


All The Times I Asked You To Stay, And The One Time You Did

by JinkookTrash



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Barista Lee Minho | Lee Know, Bullying, Character Death, Hyunjin if you squint one last time, I'm Bad At Tagging, Jeongin if you squint again, Kissing, Late Night Coffee, M/M, Panic Attack, Physical Abuse, Protect Han Jisung, Seungmin if you squint, Sexual Harassment, Swear Words, Violence, café coffee au, curse words, i think i tried to write fluff too....?, tags take away the surprise element :(, tried to tone down on them as much as i could :(, use of knife, what am i even tagging :/
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:14:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23537464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JinkookTrash/pseuds/JinkookTrash
Summary: Minho stared at the boy, not realizing he'd spoken up until he heard his own voice softly whisper,"Stay."He cringed at the pleading lilt slipping into his tone.Jisung's expression fell, his gaze dropping to the floor to avoid looking at the disappointment on the other's face as he replied in  a small voice,"I'm sorry..."ORThe Coffee Shop AU that no one really asked for.Minho's working the night shift at a 24/7 coffee shop (bless Chan for his crazy ideas) and he's so ready to throw down the apron.Enter a mysterious boy and some late night Americanos that spice up Minho's life.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han & Lee Minho | Lee Know, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 86
Kudos: 431





	1. Late Night Americano

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heyya Everybody.  
> This work is entirely un-beta read and I'll probably just constantly re-read and edit. Anyway, i hope you enjoy reading it..... This fic is like a total baby to me.... My baby❤
> 
> As for Minho's look, it isn't cute per say... more like, 
> 
> {~~White button down shirt, with the first two buttons open revealing pale smooth skin, tucked into black slacks hugging his thighs tightly and his slim waist sinfully on display. His black hair lightly parted to reveal his forehead. A single earring dangling and glinting in the dim lights of the café.~~}

Minho lazily drummed his fingers on the counter, he really needed to have a talk with Chan. For some reason the other was adamant on opening a 24/7 café which was honestly an incredibly stupid idea since no one bothered themselves to late night caffeine or whatever a café had to offer in this side of the city. Don't take him wrong, he respected the elder from the bottom of his heart, especially after everything they had been through but some times he'd question the other's sanity, just like at this very moment. 

He had worked the night shift for a month from 11 pm to 6 am and the number of customers that had tumbled in after midnight were hardly more than his finger counts. The pay was good but the immense boredom just weighed heavily against everything else. He could be doing something useful with his nights rather than staring at the walls of the café, greeting invisible customers or getting overdosed on Iced Americanos.

He was ready to text Chan about closing the café early when suddenly the door bells chimed breaking the eery silence of the night. Surprised he looked up to see a scrawny boy bundled in an oversized hoodie with a bag slung across his shoulder, looking oddly out of place.

The said boy walked to the counter with hesitant steps and shyly glanced at Minho before dropping his gaze at the ground. Minho pulled himself together and with a friendly voice repeated the introduction he'd learnt by heart _finally,_

"Hi my name's Lee Minho, what may I help you with?"

Minho thought it was the lamest intro that existed because honestly it was a café, what help do you expect to be asked for? Nonetheless the stranger visibly relaxed and then looked up to the menu his lips set into a pout as he thought over what to order. Minho dragged his eyes away from the boy's soft looking lips to his eyes.

The boy had strangely sparkling brown eyes which were currently squinted in concentration. He looked rather cute thinking so hard about what to order. 

After a few minutes the boy finally looked at him,

"One Americano and a slice of cheesecake please."

Who even said please these days? Minho was a little taken aback at the other's polite way of requesting rather than stating his order. It wasn't often he met nice customers at such unholy hours. So with an actually genuine smile he typed the order.

"Okay, I'll bring it to you when it's prepared."

He wasn't supposed to take people's order to their table or anything but he found himself making an exception. The boy smiled back and made his way to one of the seats in the corner which just so happened to be directly in Minho's line of vision.

He set out to make the Americano throwing a few curious glances at the now seated boy who seemed to be hunched over some notebook, writing away furiously as if the mere thought of slowing down would make him forget.

Minho took the coffee and cake, silently walking upto the oblivious boy, he didn't want to scare the other but when he put down the order on the table, the boy literally fell from his chair with a shocked yelp landing painfully on his ass.

He had a hand clutched at his chest while the other was massaging the slowly aching muscle and Minho would've laughed if not for the pure fear in the boy's eyes who was now glaring at him, he gulped.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. I was just trying not to distur-"

"It's fine."

Minho closed his mouth, which was hanging open after being cut off in a not-so-polite way.

The boy stood up, dusted himself and got seated once again, barely giving Minho a second glance, so he took that as his cue to leave.

He made his way back to the counter and sat down on a stool busying himself by checking his phone, completely missing the look the boy sent his way.

He expected the boy to leave after an hour or so but when the boy didn't move even after four-fucking-hours he felt a slight hint of worry. He wanted to ask the boy if everything was alright but it wasn't his place, he was just a barista. So he tightly reined in his curiosity and ignored the other's presence. 

It was nearing 5 am and his shift was going to end soon. He found himself glancing at the boy yet again and sighed for what felt like the millionth time that night before slumping his head between his hands.

The screeching sound of the chair being pushed back was what caught his attention and he looked up to see the boy packing his stuff and quietly making his way out of the shop without exchanging even a single word, not that Minho expected him to, but still it stung a tiny bit. 

Minho gladly handed over the apron to Felix when the said boy came bouncing in with a smile too bright for mornings. He grunted out a barely audible goodbye and left, feeling unexplainably exhausted. 

***********


	2. I Fell Down The Stairs

Minho didn't expect the other to show up again but the boy did anyway, ordering an Americano while actively avoiding Minho's eyes. He didn't attempt to talk with the boy, opting to quietly observe him from the counter. He noticed the way the boy would tense up at even the slightest of noise and look frantically around, like he was afraid of something jumping at him or maybe _someone_. He found himself worrrying about the boy's skinny frame and dark eye bags which seemed to be permanent on his face. He also found himself wondering about alot of things such as why the boy was spending his entire night here? why was he so jumpy? what was he scribbling in that notebook and most importantly why wasn't someone looking for him at this hour or if there was even someone worried about the boy's whereabouts.

***********

It was the sixth night in a row and Minho found himself waiting for the familiar face to pop up. He was kind of getting used to of the boy spending his whole night at the café with Minho, _well not technically with Minho_ but that's just minor details. When he heard the chime he quickly looked up to see the boy stumbling into the café. He frowned at the limp in the other's walk and how half of his face was covered by a mask. The boy looked anywhere but him and tried his best to run off after mumbling his order. Minho swore that the other's voice was unnaturally hoarse, whether it was from dryness or something worse, he wasn't sure. 

When he was done with the other's order he walked upto his table and took a seat opposite to the boy who's eyes went wide. 

"Wha-"

Minho cut off the other, "Take off your mask."

The boy's eyes grew wider if that was even possible and shook his head trying to move back. The reaction was enough to confirm Minho's suspicions. He breathed deeply and with a softer voice tried to coax the other, 

"I'm not here to hurt you, just let me see."

The boy looked like he wanted to bolt out of the door so Minho reached out to gently grab the other's hand but stopped when the boy violently flinched. Minho was getting more and more worried but hid it behind a neutral expression.

"Look trust me Okay? I promise I won't hurt you."

The boy looked at him for a full minute, his eye's full of distrust but then he slowly pulled down the mask. Minho took a sharp intake of air and tensed up, there on the boy's jaw and cheek were green and purple bruises. His lip was split open with dried blood crusted at the side and his right cheek was red and swollen. The sight made Minho extremely furious. 

"Who did this?"

The boy looked away and bit down on his lip before replying, 

"I fell down the stairs."

Minho pressed his lips into a thin line at the obvious lie but didn't question anymore respecting the other's privacy. He stood up and saw the boy look at him desperately for just a fraction of a second before it got replaced with a blank one. He walked away, going to the storage room only to come back with a first aid kit. Minho let himself entertain the idea that maybe the boy looked relieved seeing him come back and not because of the kit he carried. 

He pulled a chair close to the boy and heard the other's breath get caught. 

"This might sting a little."

Minho pulled out a disinfectant and cotton silently asking for the others permission. When the boy gave a slight nod Minho set into action carefully dabbing the cotton over the boys wounds. The boy hissed at the sudden burn but overall remained completely still while Minho worked on his injuries, whether his lack of response was a good or a bad sign, he didn't know. After he was done he gave the boy a once over,

"Where else did you get hurt?"

"Nowhere."

Minho felt slight irritation towards the other's closed off responses now,

"I saw you limp, is it your right leg?"

The boy opened his mouth, probably to deny but then closed it seeing Minho's serious face. He slowly propped his right leg on a chair and then turned his head away. Minho took it as a hint to check and quickly rolled the other's sweats upward, the boy shivered when Minho's finger grazed the bare skin. There on his leg was a horribly swollen red blotch which was turning greenish purple around the edges. Minho gave the other a worried look which was profusely ignored. 

"Honestly boy, what happened to you?"

The said boy finally turned his head to Minho, fixing him with a blank stare,

"Jisung."

Minho was confused, "What?"

"My name's Han Jisung and not _boy_."

Minho tried mouthing the boy's name, it rolling smoothly from his tongue, "Jisung huh?"

The boy turned his head away again but Minho caught the red tint on his cheeks and let out a chuckle at the others cuteness. 

"Okay Jisung, will you tell me what really happened?"

Minho knew there was a sort of desperate edge to his voice but the boy merely shook his head letting out the same,

"I told you i fell down the stairs."

Minho decided to give up for now and returned his focus on treating the bruise on the other's leg, missing the way Jisung peeked at him. When he was done he pulled the sweat back down and gently put the others foot on the ground. He was about to say something but was cut off with the ringing of a phone. He saw how Jisung stiffened next to him and hesitated to pick the call. He wondered who's call it was that caused such a reaction but before he could ask, Jisung was out of his chair slinging his bag back onto his shoulder. He looked pale but managed to take a few steps away from Minho with a quietly muttered, 

"Thank you..... _Minho Hyung_."

Minho didn't have time to ponder over the fact that the boy remembered his name from their first encounter and had also called him Hyung, because the boy sped out of the shop the best he could with an injured leg and Minho could do nothing but watch the other leave. 

*************


	3. What About Latte?

It had been long since midnight and the boy was nowhere to be seen. Minho hadn't known the other that long but still found himself constantly worrying about the fragile boy and it was driving him nearly hysterical. His watch read 3am, with a sigh he was about to give up when the bell chimed. He whipped his head up at the door so fast, surprised that he didn't get a whiplash. Relief flooded through his body him as soon as his eyes landed on Jisung who was walking in. 

"Where the fuck were you?"

Jisung halted in his steps, his eyes turning comically rounder but then resumed walking towards Minho his hands buried deep into his hoodie's pocket. 

"Something came up, I'm sorry."

Minho instantly relaxed and with a much calmer voice asked, 

"How are you?"

Jisung looked confused for a moment before he asked incredulously, pointing a finger at himself.

"Me?"

Minho rolled his eyes, "No, the guy right behind you."

Jisung had the audacity to quickly throw a glance over his shoukder, as if he believed there actually was someone behind him. He turned back to Minho, his gaze searching as he stared straight into the older's eyes and just when Minho was about to ask, the boy slumped his shoulders down with a drawn out sigh. 

"I'm fine."

"You're nowhere near fine. Have you even seen yourself?"

Jisung just shrugged, "It could've been worse."

Minho felt a shiver run through him when the other said this so nonchalantly like having a bruised face and leg wasn't even worth batting an eyelash over. Jisung shifted his weight from one foot to another and then looked at Minho giving him a small smile.

"I guess I'll go now."

"What? You didn't even order anything."

Jisung gave a light laugh which Minho thought was one of the most melodic thing he had heard.

"I just dropped by to say hi, I can't stay long.... at least not tonight."

Minho just then realized the absence of the other's usual backpack. He wanted to ask _why?_ but instead found himself nodding. When the other turned to leave he hurriedly shouted a 'Goodbye' which was met with short laughter from the other's retreating figure. 

***********

Jisung came at the usual time tonight and Minho sighed in relief not realizing how tense his muscles had been. He had ordered the usual but rather than walking away to the corner table, he took a stool and settled in front of the counter. Minho was pleasantly surprised to say the least. He too took a seat beside the boy and glanced at the notebook the younger had taken out, it was worn out but something about it told that it was highly precious. Jisung when noticing the others gaze quickly hid the notebook, looking self conscious. 

"What do you keep writing there Jisung?"

"N-Nothing. It's not important."

Minho hummed but continued to look at the boy who started to squirm in his seat. He would've definitely missed out the whispered words if he hadn't been staring at the boy so intensely. 

"Lyrics...."

"What?"

Jisung squared his shoulders and met Minho's inquiring gaze, his cheeks flushed but tone firm. 

"I write lyrics."

Minho was impressed, "Woah! Do you sing them too?"

Jisung stuttered and turned his head away,

"They're more like r-raps."

"That's cool! Can you rap them then?"

Minho wanted to hear the boy rap but the said boy frowned and then lowered his head, "Sorry I can't."

He wanted to press further but realized the other must be uncomfortable singing in front of strangers, so let it slide. Minho hooked his finger under Jisung's chin which caused the boy to tense up but just for a second, he then slowly brought the boys lightly flushed face up to look into his eyes and whispered softly,

"It's okay, I can wait."

They were both staring deeply into each others eyes, neither breaking contact and Minho didn't know how but their faces were more closer than before. He could feel the others breath ghost over his face and wanted nothing more than to close the last bit of gap but instead he pushed himself away with as much will-power he could muster. Minho let his finger, which was holding Jisung's chin, slowly drag down, leaving light touches on the boys neck which made the other blush a bright red. Then he completely moved away going back to making coffee. 

Jisung sat, unmoving at the same spot, his eyes set where Minho had been just a few seconds ago. He snapped out of his stupor when the older asked, 

"How about you try something other than Americano?"

"W-What do you have in mind?"

Jisung cleared his throat and Minho didn't fail to notice how the boy avoided looking at him. He thought for a moment, tapping a finger on his chin before suggesting, 

"What about latte?"

Jisung gave a small shrug, schooling his features. 

"Sure."

And just like that they both went about their own work. Jisung like all other times left exactly at 5 am but this time with a shy wave and a soft, " _Goodbye Hyung_."

Minho felt warmth envelope his heart and a strange feeling settled inside him. He couldn't place a finger as to what that new feeling was so, chose to ignore it _for now_. 

*************


	4. Cold, Wet And Shivering

These nightly visits continued on for a few months. Jisung had considerably opened upto the elder going as far as to laugh, make jokes and even tease him, and Minho had never felt happier. Somedays the boy would come skipping into the shop, a huge smile on his face and voice vibrating with excitement. Other days he'd come hunched over, looking tired with eye bags etched onto his honeyed skin and a forced smile. Those were days Minho would do everything he could in his power to bring back the other's smile even if it meant making a complete fool out of himself which didn't matter in the least, not when it caused a precious smile to bloom on the younger's face, leaving Minho feeling giddy.

The worst days were ones in which Jisung would stagger inside or come limping, hiding his face under a hood or mask, supporting bruises and cuts, ready to break apart any second. Those days Minho's heart would shatter and he'd ask the younger what happened only to be replied by the same _'Fell down the stairs'_. Jisung knew the other wasn't buying his crappy excuse but was glad the older didn't dig deeper. Those days Minho would do his best to patch up the younger and give him hugs which the younger returned back albeit shyly, and several months went by like this. 

***********

Jisung came to the shop at his usual time but frowned when he saw the inside of the shop dark and the sign reading _"closed"_. He figured Minho was taking a day off so he walked back, planning to ask the reason when they meet again only to come back the next night to the same sight. He was starting to worry about the other but told himself that he was just being paranoid. He waited some time outside the shop but when the weather turned bad, he went back. 

It was the fourth night and by now Jisung was a second away from tearing his hair out. The shop was still closed and there had been no sign of Minho. Jisung paced in front of the shop, not knowing if the shop was closed for the whole day or just for the night but he would be damned if he didn't find out this time. He knew that the consequences of staying out late would be hell but finding out if Minho was alright or not out weighed his own safety. He didn't know when he started to care so much about the older and when he opened his heart, which had been locked away. 

Jisung had stopped trusting people years ago and had led himself to believe that anyone who tried to associate with him only did it to use him and that's why he never got attached to anyone, well not until Minho came along with his cheshire cat like smiles, beautiful airy laughter and pretty face which would morph into one of worry whenever he'd see Jisung hurt. He didn't know exactly when the older had become so important to him but now that he had, Jisung found he didn't mind it at all. Rather the fact that the older cared for him and spent his time with him made his insides warm after a long long time and the feeling was very much welcoming. 

Hours passed by and there was still no sign of anyone coming to the café. Jisung felt tired, his entire body crying out in exhaustion but he kept sitting on the hard pavement, pacing every now and then to workout his numb muscles. He jumped up in fear when thunder cackled and looked up to see dark clouds looming. _Great_ , he didn't even bring an umbrella tonight. He debated whether or not to stay, but the need to see Minho won in the end, so he kept sitting. As his darn luck would have it, rain started pouring heavily and by the time it stopped he was soaking in rain water from head to toe, shivering terribly.

Beams of sunlight started to break across the now light blue sky and Jisung lifted his heavily droopy eyes to look at it only to drop them back down. A blurred figure approaching down the street caught his attention and he stood up so fast, the entire world around him spinned, making him dizzy. Still he forced his sore legs to move, his heart thumping loudly and ran up to the figure only to stop dead. There, standing in front of him was a boy, about the same age as him with blonde hair and freckles on his face. The boy looked shocked to see Jisung though he couldn't blame him. Anyone would be shocked to see a drenched and dripping frantic looking boy. He was about to slump down when the stranger spoke up, his voice surprisingly deep. 

"Were you outside the café the whole night?"

Jisung just nodded and started to walk back but he felt the other stop him by putting a hand on his shoulder. 

"Hey, come inside. You must be freezing."

Jisung wasn't about to trust a random stranger but it was true, he was freezing so he gave a curt nod and followed the stranger only to be led inside the café. 

"Y-You work here?"

The blonde boy looked back and gave a bright smile, "Yeah i work the morning shift."

Jisung scrambled after the other his voice coming out in a desperate plea.

"Do you know Minho hyung? Do you know why he hasn't been coming for four days? I've been worried sick and i don't know how to find out about him since i don't even have his number-"

He was cut off when the boy placed his hands on his shoulders, squeezing them lightly. He took a deep breath and realized he was shaking badly. 

"Breathe for me."

Jisung did as told and the boy pushed him down on a chair and left to the back of the counter only to come back with two towels. 

"Dry yourself up first. I'll answer you after that."

Jisung weakly nodded and took the offered towels, he belatedly realized that he hadn't flinched even once from the stranger's touches, maybe it was because of all the skinship with Minho. He had the towel draped over his head when he finally looked at the other boy who was eyeing him from the counter. 

"Hi, I'm Felix."

"Hi, I'm Jisung, and sorry for ranting earlier."

Felix just gave a small laugh and waved his hand in the air but then his expression turned serious. 

"Why do you want to know about Minho Hyung?"

Jisung perked up at that,

"He hasn't been coming for four days and I'm just w-worried that something might've happened to him. Is he alright?"

Felix looked at him for a moment and Jisung felt his skin itch but then the boy turned back to his smiling self and replied.

"I didn't know Minho Hyung was close  
to someone other than us but-,"

he shrugged,

"-guess he's still as secretive as always."

Jisung felt a little bitter at that, obviously the other was Minho's friend and he hadn't known about Jisung which meant that the older didn't talk about him. He didn't know why he felt abit disappointed at that but quickly pushed down that feeling. The other boy was oblivious to Jisung's momentary crisis and continued.

"Hyung is alright, don't worry. I'm surprised he didn't tell you though."

Jisung was relieved yet confused at the same time and a bad feeling churned in his stomach. 

"Hyung had extra practices for his upcoming dance competition, so he took a few days off and-"

Jisung abruptly stood up causing the boy to stop talking. He felt anger flare inside of him and when he looked up to see the other's face he knew that Felix could feel it coming off of him too. He threw the towel on the table and bowed down.

"Thank you for helping me Felix-ssi."

His tone was cold and Felix was taken aback at the sudden change in demeanor, watching how Jisung's eyes lost their shine only to be replaced by a darker look. He didn't know how but he felt like he'd caused some damage or _alot damage_. He wanted to fix whatever it was but Jisung was already walking away with wide angry steps before he could even open his mouth. 

Jisung left the café not waiting for an answer but bumped into someone just outside. He looked up, only to see the one person he did not want to right now. Minho's eyes were wide and he looked surprised. 

"Jisung! what are yo-"

But Jisung roughly pushed past the other not wanting to stay in his company. He heard the other call out to him but ignored it and walked away feeling like crap. He never should have gotten attached when he certainly didn't mean anything to the other. He felt tears fall from his eyes but refused to wipe them, he decided to never go back to that place or to that guy. 

He beated himself up for never learning his lesson, even after all the times he had been hurt, he still went ahead and made a fool out of himself. He worried himself so much, he waited idiotically and _for who?_ just another someone who never felt anything more than pity for the bruised-weakling of a boy. He hated Minho but more than that he hated himself and so he walked away, ready to face hell for his earlier useless actions.

-

Minho watched Jisung stomp away, he tried calling the other but was ignored. He wasn't exactly sure why the other looked so angry but figured the other needed some time, so stopped himself from running after him. He wondered why Jisung was here at this time when he always left by 5 am. Shaking his head to stop the questions from clouding his mind he made his way inside the café only to find Felix standing there looking scared and upset. He walked to the other and gently shook him which caused the boy to finally look at his face. 

"What's wrong Felix?"

"That boy."

Minho just tilted his head, "Yeah Jisung, what about him?"

Felix looked like he was thinking so Minho waited patiently, he was anything if not patient. 

"Hyung, you didn't tell me anything about being friends with Jisung?"

"Yeah, it never really came up. He always comes after midnight and leaves before sunrise so you wouldn't know him."

"Hyung are you both even friends?"

Minho felt a spark of annoyance at that question,

"Yes we are. Why are you asking me that and why was Jisung here?"

Felix gave him an unreadable look, his voice taking an angry undertone as he answered Minho with another question.

"Do you know what state I found him in?"

Minho felt worry claw at him from inside. He hadn't seen the other in a few days, what if he was hurt again?

"What happened to him?"

Minho demanded rather than asked and Felix scoffed which only irked Minho further. 

"Hyung he was outside the café drenched from head to toe and it looked alot like he had been waiting for hours in that cold weather."

Minho felt his insides twist at that. Why was Jisung waiting outside in the cold and rain? 

"The worst part hyung was that when he saw me coming, he ran up to me looking so worried and then when he realized i am not who he was waiting for, he just _deflated_. I brought him inside and rather than worrying about catching a cold he was constantly asking about _You_."

Minho stopped breathing. 

"He kept saying how you hadn't come to the café in four days and he was worried something bad might have happened to you and was about to break down and cry."

With a sigh Felix looked at him with hurt in his eyes, "You didn't tell him?"

Minho dropped his eyes to the ground. Shit, he hadn't told Jisung about taking a leave. The last time they had met, he was busy tending to the others injuries and had completely forgotten about the practice and dance competition. 

"Shit. Shit. Shit."

He muttered again and again running his hand through his hair messing them up. Jisung must've come every night and waited for him. " _Shit_." He must've been so worried about him and had even waited the whole night sitting outside the café in rain.

"Fuck what did I just do."

Felix felt some of his anger dissipate at his hyung's genuinely distressed state. 

"He asked me about you and I didn't know about the situation so i mentioned about your leave and dance competition. He looked so betrayed hyung. I'm sorry."

Minho sagged down on the chair unable to hold his weight up anymore. He had fucked things up. No wonder Jisung had been so angry and had walked away without another glance, he needed to fix things but didn't really know how. Felix knelt in front of him.

"I'm sorry hyung."

Minho gave him a weak smile,

"It's not your fault Lix, I should've told him. God he must've been so scared."

Felix looked at him, studying his face. 

"He isn't just a friend, is he?"

Minho looked at the boy, his eyebrows pulled together but then turned his head away exhaling a deep breath and a confused,

"I don't know."

************


	5. Midnight Blue

Minho waited with bated breath for Jisung as the night rolled on but the boy didn't come to the café, not even for days. He knew he deserved every bit of the mental torture of desperately waiting for the other. He wanted to fix his mistake, apologize or even go as far as to beg, if it meant the other would finally just come back. 

He didn't have any way to contact the younger and after a whole week passed by, agonisingly slow, worrying about the other, he came to understand how Jisung must've felt all those days Minho had disappeared without a word. 

Minho's friends had noticed his distressed state and distant behavior, so they took it upon themselves to make him feel better. Chan showed up to the café followed by Changbin and Felix hand in hand, just as Minho came in for his shift. He announced that they were closing for the night to which Minho flatly refused, a small voice in his head saying _'what if Jisung comes tonight'_ but his refusal met deaf ears. In the next moment Chan and Changbin with equally mischievous grins tackled Minho and quite literally dumped him in the back seat of their car. Minho did not like being manhandled and forced against his will, sulking he crossed his arms, a scowl set on his face, knowing there was no way out of this. The others just climbed in, laughing at their friend's pettiness.

-

They soon pulled upto a club in one of the high society areas. He tried putting up a good fight in getting out of the car but soon gave up when he saw his friends' worried expressions. He knew they were just trying to cheer him up but all he wanted was a certain squirrel boy to come back. He sighed and made his way inside, _just one night_ , he told himself just so his friends don't go bald getting worked up over him. 

He didn't feel like dancing and that itself gave away his awful mood, since he loved nothing more than dance. He slid into one of the booths, watching as the others made it to the dance floor one by one. He wasn't in the mood to party, wanting nothing more than to go back to the café's peaceful and serene atmosphere. He was still clad into his uniform, white button down shirt tucked into black slacks and a black leather jacket thrown over it which hugged his lean body tightly. He knew he looked good without even putting any effort but during the car ride Felix had put black eye liner on him saying how it made his cat-eyes pop out and what not. He had let the younger do whatever but not without grumbling and complaining the whole time which only caused the other's to chuckle at his childish behavior. 

He swept his eyes across the club taking in the lavish décor, he could see sweaty bodies swaying to the beat, and silhouettes of people making out and doing other stuff in the darker corners. He moved his eyes to the bar where people were sitting around sipping their expensive drinks, flirting with each other and the handsome bartenders, he also saw Jisung laughin- wait _JISUNG?_ He snapped his attention to the boy sitting on a high stool, looking alot like Jisung but not like _~~his~~_ Jisung at the same time. 

The said boy was wearing a silk purple shirt with a low cut neck showing off his sharp collarbones and a patch of honey tan skin. The sleeves were long and cuffed at his wrists, his fingers littered with twinkling silver rings. His hair, _**HIS HAIR**_ were fucking Midnight Blue! When did he even dye them? He felt his throat go dry and blood rushed to his face and another place at the sight of those blue hair falling in a messily styled way over the others forhead.

The boy's eyes caught his undivided attention next, those deep brown eyes which were now accentuated with smudged liner. There was a thin black choker around the other's neck and he was wearing tight black leather pants which left nothing to imagination. He gaped open mouth at the other, sure the eyes and cute puffy cheeks were telling him that he was Jisung but the whole attire and the aura around the other had changed. What happened to the shy looking boy huddled in oversized clothes? 

Standing up on wobbly legs, he made his way towards the bar, trying his best to weave through the dancing bodies but was annoyingly slowed down. He looked up in time to see three people rounding up on Jisung and the need to get there just intensified a hundred folds. He started elbowing the people to move them out of his way, earning curses and shouts but couldn't bother giving a flying fuck about them. His heart started to loudly pound against his chest, as one of the guy put a painful looking grip on Jisung's arm and dragged him outside, followed closely by the other two.

By the time he got outside the club, there was no sign of Jisung or those three guys. He frantically looked around trying to find them and was about to go back inside and search, when he heard it. A loud thump and a muffled scream. He jerked his head to where the sound had come from and quickly sprinted to the alley.

He saw a lump of a body on the ground and one of the guy pressing his foot on it while the other two lackeys were behind him snickering. He was about to go further inside when he heard a choked out but fierce voice, which belonged to none other than Jisung. 

"What? Done already? Thought you wanted the money or are you too pussy to mess with the rich kid?"

This earned the boy a kick to his side which snapped Minho out of the momentary trance and he let out an animalistic growl.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM!"

The three stopped and looked back at Minho giving him an unimpressed look. 

"Look if you're here for the money then scram. We got our hands on him first."

He felt bile rise up his throat and didn't waste a second before punching and kicking the two measly guys on the ground. The third, who had a tight hold on Jisung's collar, then started to look somewhat scared.

"Dude we can split the money. You don't have to fight, we're here for the same thing."

He stalked towards the guy taking large steps, anger pulsing through his veins and hands balled into fists at his sides. He wanted nothing more than to break the fucker's bones, who had dared to hurt his Jisung. 

Seeing him approach, the guy left his hold on Jisung causing the boy to fall back on the ground with an 'oomph'. He shifted his gaze from Minho to the boy and let out a snarl. 

"You filthy wimp. I'll fucking make you pay for it."

Minho had never chased someone the way he did when the guy tried to run away. Within seconds he had the guy pinned to the gound with him sitting over his chest. He punched the guy once- twice- thrice before he heard the satisfactory crunch of his nose under his knuckles, he wasn't done with the other, not yet. He stood up and yanked the guy, slamming him against the wall and jammed his elbow into his throat, cutting off the air supply, them he dangerously leaned in.

"If you ever lay a fucking finger on him I'll hunt you down, cut your _tiny_ dick off and choke you on it."

Minho couldn't recognize his own voice, it was cold, threatening and way too calm for someone who was infuriated. For good measures he kneed the guy who doubled over in pain and then moved back, only to see the loser stagger out of the alley as fast as he could. The other two had ran away some time back and now it was just him and Jisung, who was now sitting with his back against the wall. 

"I didn't ask for your help."

He moved towards the other and tried to help him up only for his hand to be shrugged off. A sharp pang of pain went through his heart, seeing the other like this.

"Jisung liste-"

"Fuck off."

Jisung pushed himself off the ground, only to sway and fall to the side but a pair of hands wrapped around him to prevent it. 

"Stop it please. You're hurting yourself."

Jisung pushed out of his hold and glared at him. 

"I've been through worse."

He felt his heart break at that and tried to reach towards the boy again but Jisung hastily turned around and teetered out of the alley. There was no visible bruise on the others body and he felt only the slightest bit relieved that the boy hadn't been badly hurt.

"Jisung I'm really sor-"

"Fucking leave me alone. You're just like everyone else. I don't want to hear your stupid fake apology. It would've been better if you had left me with those fucking thugs atleast they didn't pretend to care about me unlike-"

Jisung stopped when he felt arms encircle his waist from the back. He had been too preoccupied with ranting that he didn't even notice the tears that were streaming down his face. They were out on the street now, and Jisung tried to break free of the warm hold. 

"Let.Go!"

But the arms around him only tightened in response, and he felt Minho press his face into his neck making him shudder. 

"I'm sorry Jisung-ah, I was going to tell you but it slipped my mind when i saw you bruised up, which is not even a excuse but i never meant to hurt you. I know how much worried you must've been and I'm so very sorry. Please just-"

"I was worried something bad happened to you."

Minho felt the others body shake as sobs left the younger. He turned the boy around who had his face lowered and wrapped his hands around him once again while pressing the others face to his chest. He could feel Jisung's rapid heart beat but his own wasn't far behind. 

"I'm sorry."

"I hate you."

"I know."

"You're the worst."

"I know."

"Let go of me."

"........I won't."

He couldn't help but smile a little when Jisung hit his chest with his small fists, it didn't even hurt but he still let out small _'Ow_ ' just for the sake of it. When the other stopped crying, he pushed away from Minho, making the older sad at the lack of warmth but he braced himself and met Jisung's gaze evenly. 

"Do you forgive me?"

Jisung looked away, his lips in a cute pout which he wanted nothing more than to kiss away. 

"What if i say no?"

He felt his heart pick up at that, worried but he kept a straight face and tapped a finger on his chin, pretending to think. When he didn't say anything for a long while Jisung turned to face him, his eyes vulnerable.

He sighed knowing the words that he was about to say held a certain truth behind the playfulness. 

"Then i guess I'll follow you around like a puppy and beg for your forgiveness until you eventually give in to my sexy charms."

He winked, causing the boy to blush adorably and continued teasing. 

"I'm pretty stubborn you know."

"You're an asshole."

He laughed out loud at that and shook his head a small smile tugging at his lips. 

"Whatever happened to my shy little Sungie."

Jisung looked up at him wide eyed, taken aback at the sudden nickname that the other had given him but then squinted his eyes. 

"And whatever happened to the _I-Won't-Hurt-You_ Hyung."

Jisung regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth as he saw Minho's eyes turn sad, his smile drop and his whole posture fold in on itself. He felt terrible and rushed to apologize.

"I'm sorry i didn't mean to say that."

Minho just gave a weak smile at that.

"Its okay, i deserved it anyway."

Jisung frowned, not liking the other's guilt ridden and sad tone. He tugged at Minho's hand causing the other to look up and said in a softer tone. 

"You can make up for it Hyung."

At that, Minho stood up straighter and with a much brighter smile said, "I definitely will."

Minho glanced at his watch, it was abit over 2am, they still had time. 

"We have a few hours before you have to go right?"

Jisung's mouth hung open, "Uh-yeah?"

He gave the boy a sly smirk,

"Want to eat Ramen?"

He couldn't help but let out an obnoxious laugh when Jisung spluttered, obviously getting the hidden meaning.

"YA HYUNG!"

He snickered, "All in good intent Sungie."

He cooed as Jisung blushed yet again at the nickname and pinched his cheek before taking hold of the others wrist and dragging him off into their first night outside the café. He felt Jisung tug his hand out of the hold ans quickly dropped it thinking he had crossed the line, but the boy merely slid his hand into his ans intertwined their fingers causing Minho's cheeks to blaze up.

They ended up at one of the convenience store and settled outside after each of them grabbed their ramen and banana milks. Minho took notice, of how Jisung practically stuffed his face full of food before chewing it, unable to take his eyes off the boy's adorably stuffed cheeks. Jisung gave him a wierd look.

"What are you staring at?"

"You."

Jisung huffed at this, turning his body towards him, "Why?"

He rested his chin on his hand leaning towards the other,

"Because you're a beautiful squirrel."

He loved how Jisung's face turned completely red before he shoved him away, causing the older to fall off the chair ungracefully. He groaned at the pain shooting up his ass and pouted at Jisung making the younger laugh. 

"It hurts."

Jisung resumed eating, "Good, it should."

He sat back up and smiled at himself. Atleast the other wasn't mad at him anymore, they ate silently for the rest of the time. There was still some time left so he dragged the younger to the small park nearby. He sat down on the grass pulling Jisung down with him. 

"You're not angry at me anymore, are you?"

Jisung let out a sigh, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He couldn't help but think how small the other looked at the moment and a strong sense of protectiveness washed over him. His hands itched to hold the boy and pull him in his arms but he didn't dare make a move, waiting for Jisung to speak up. 

"I'm not angry at you Hyung, but it's jus- It's just that i don't know anything about you. I didn't know you danced until Felix-ssi told me, heck i don't even know your number. It's like all the time we spent together was either for coffee or to fix my injuries and when Felix-ssi asked if i was actually your friend... something kind of snapped."

He felt his heart tug at the sad look on Jisung's face, gently he cupped the boy's cheeks, causing him to look straight into his eyes. 

"My name's Lee Minho. I'm 24 years old and a choreographer at JYP. I love dancing which has been my passion since forever. I also work part time at my friend Chan's café for the night shift. I love cats and have three of them back at my home Sooni, Doongi and Dori. My favorite color is mint and i love strawberry ice-cream. I sometimes sing for my friend who is a producer at the company but most importantly I love spending time with a cute squirrel boy who comes to the café every night just to scribble in his notebook and drink Americanos."

He took in a deep breath after his rant, watching with amusement as Jisung's face turned from shocked to amazed to beetroot red. Unable to stop himself anymore, he leaned in to rest his forehead against the other's and whispered, 

"Now it's your turn."

He gently rubbed his thumb over Jisung's cheekbones and saw how the boy's eyelashes fluttered as he closed his eyes. After another minute or so of enjoying the proximity, he moved away letting his hands gently trace down the others cheek and jaw before pulling back and putting some distance between them. Jisung snapped his eyes open at the lack of touch but didn't say anything, instead cleared his throat. 

"W-What do you want to know?"

He thought for a moment, finger tapping over his chin. 

"I know you won't tell me how you get those bruises," he felt Jisung tense up at the mention of them. "So tell me about you."

"About me?"

"Yes."

"O-Okay. My name's Han Jisung and I'm 20. I hate studying but i love rapping and writing melodic lyrics. I hate crowded places and I really hate people touching me. I love Americanos, Cheesecake and Chocolate cake and I-I really don't know what else to say." 

Jisung looked down embarrassed and Minho slightly nudged the other for his attention. He then checked his watch to see they still had 10 more minutes.

"Give me your phone."

Jisung tilted his head in confusion but nonetheless handed his phone without hesitation which made him smile at the others unquestionable trust. He quickly typed in his number, saving it as _Minhoe Hyung_ and gave himself a call before handing it back to the others. 

"There, now we have each others number."

Taking back his phone, Jisung gave him a huge smile with his lips forming a heart and cheeks puffed up and pocketed the thing. 

"Thanks Hyung."

He ruffled the others hair, finally touching those blue locks, feeling their soft texture under his fingetips.

"For someone who hates skinship, you certainly don't mind my touches."

He quickly dodged the punch the other sent his way, laughing hard. He saw Jisung pout and without much thought, reached over to gently swipe his finger over the other's bottom lip causing the boy to shiver. 

"Don't pout Sungie or else..."

Jisung visibly gulped but still asked, his lip pressed against Minho's finger,

"Or else what?"

"Or else-"

He slowly moved towards Jisung caging the others body under him and stopped when their lips were barely centimeters apart. He licked his lips, watching Jisung unconsciously copy the action. He dropped his gaze down to the younger's plush pink lips before dragging his eyes back to meet the other's hooded gaze. He saw Jisung take in a shuddering breath and exhale, which mingled with his own. He could barely stop himself from jumping the boy there and then and mentally chided himself for losing control so easily.

Slowly he pulled back leaving the boy flustered, a choked whine leaving his pretty lips. If he was feeling hot before, he was most definitely burning now, wanting to wreck the boy under him but he managed not to. He gave the boy an innocent smile trying hard to hide his growing want.

"Or else you'll be late Jisung-ah."

He let out a hearty chuckle when Jisung gave him a dirty look, his cheeks tinted pink. With a withering glare Jisung stood up and kicked Minho's side before stalking away and muttering an irriated. 

"Fuck you."

He stayed sitting on the grass long after the other had walked away and left, feeling alot more lighter and happier than he had in the past few days. When he checked his phone he cursed loudly, seeing messages and calls piling his notifications, all from his friends. He decided to ring Chan, knowing the male would be awake anyway, no matter the time.

"What the hell Minho! Where were you? Do you know how worried we were!"

"I'm sorry hyung, I just got caught up in things. Sorry to have worried you."

He could hear Chan take a calming breath, "Are you alright?"

He felt a smile break onto his features, "More than alright hyung."

Chan could tell by the others tone that something good must've happened, so he let his anger slide this time. 

"Good now drag your ass back, Felix is too drunk to take the morning shift."

Immediate the smile dropped and he whined loudly, "Hyung! I haven't slept for so long."

Chan just laughed it off, "See you later  
Min." 

He grumbled under his breath, wanting nothing more than to sleep but still found himself walking in the direction of the café, a light bounce to his steps.

*************


	6. Just Let Me In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey... so for everyone reading this... I hope this update is worth ur wait✨

Minho was dead tired, he had worked the morning shift at the café and had been called to the company for an urgent matter which continued late into the evening. He barely slept an hour before he had to leave for his night shift and as much as he would love to just skip it and sleep in, he wanted to meet a certain someone. Thats how he found himself dragging his heavy body to the café, doing his best to not fall asleep on the floor. As always there were no customer so he settled down on a chair, unable to stand any longer. He only intended to press his head against the cool surface of the counter in order to get rid of his headache but the next thing he knew, he was slowly and surely slipping into unconsciousness.

For some reason he felt extremely warm and a familiar scent wafted around him. He faintly heard a soft voice singing, which lulled him further into dreamland but then his brain kicked in and he remembered exactly where he was. Jolting up in his seat, he groaned loudly as his neck made a painful crack.

He felt something slide down his shoulders, reaching back his hands met leather. Pulling the material in front of him he saw that it was a jacket. The angelic voice had stopped by now and he looked up to see a very wide eyed Jisung staring at him.

Had Jisung been singing? Shit! he should've just faked sleeping and listened to the boy. He mentally cursed himself before throwing a smile at the other and muttering an embarrassed.

"It was a long day."

He felt his cheeks warm up when he heard the other giggling- a squeaky yet adorable sound. He still had the jacket in his hand, he looked at it and then at the still giggling boy concluding that it must belong to Jisung. His heart skipped a beat at the thought of the younger putting his jacket on him and his insides tingled.

"Hyung, you can go back to sleep."

Jisung was looking at him with fond eyes that were shining in the dim lights of café and Minho couldn't look away. He kept looking at the other which caused the boy to shift in his seat and look away, that effectively brought Minho out of his thoughts. He walked towards the other, ruffling his hair which were still very much blue and every bit as soft as last night.

"I'm fine Sungie. I have a question though..."

Jisung tilted his head at Minho, "Shoot."

"The singing... It was you right?" 

Jisung turned shy at that, curling a little into himself with his cheeks taking on a beautiful pink hue before giving a small nod. 

"You were frowning and mumbling in your sleep and i-i just thought that maybe it might help." 

Minho was touched at the other's caring gesture and leaned down to look into the other's eyes, "Your voice is beautiful."

When Jisung turned his head to the side letting out a huff with bright red eartips, Minho laughed and walked away to make the other some coffee. He had thrown the jacket on his shoulder and didn't think twice before putting it on, liking the fact that it was abit short on him. He wanted to comment on the other's height but when he turned around, all teasing left him.

Jisung was looking at him with a darkened expression, his eyes holding an unknown fiery emotion. He felt incredibly self-conscious which was wierd as well as foreign to his normally confident self. He rubbed his neck feeling heat creep up his cheeks and muttered,

"I can take it off if you want it bac-"

"No!" Jisung's voice was loud and Minho snapped his eyes to the others, who looked away, continuing in a lower but strained voice, "Keep it on, i don't want you to get cold and it looks good on you."

 _Oh_.

He gave the other a timid smile and hurriedly turned around planning on banging his head against the closest wall, but decided against it, in case it freaked the boy out.

The whole time that he was making coffee, he felt eyes on his back but didn't dare turn around to meet the others gaze. He hadn't felt this way before, usually he was the one oozing with over-confidence and making other's flustered, _not the other way around._ Looks like he was getting a taste of his own medicine this once, and boy was it doing wonders to him.

By the time he brought the coffee to the counter, Jisung had gone back to crazily writing in his notebook. He took a seat next to the other humming under his breath, just then the thoughts about last night came back to him and he quickly looked over to the boy.

"Jisung."

The said boy only made a small noise in repsonse and Minho called his name once again but in a more serious tone.

"Jisung!"

At this the younger finally gave him his full attention, his brows pulled into a look of confusion, "Yes hyung?"

"Yesterday, i didn't see any bruises but were you hurt? He kicked you didn't he?"

Jisung stared blankly at him before going back to writing,

"I'm fine hyung stop worrying. The kick wasn't even that hard."

"Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"Yes."

"Jisung look-"

"Hyung I said I'm fine!"

Jisung snapped but quickly shut his mouth, looking a little scared for a second before his expression turned into one of guilt. He ran a hand through his hair, his voice turning small.

"I-I'm sorry i shouldn't have snapped at you. You're just worried and i-"

He took a deep breath and then looked straight at Minho. 

"I'm not used to people asking me how i am or if it hurts. So it's just- It doesn't even matter anymore so you shouldn't worry yourself over it."

Minho tried to open his mouth but Jisung quickly pushed himself out of the chair and started blindly putting his stuff back into the bag but before Jisung could get away, he grabbed the others wrist and pulled him, causing the boy to let out a squeak. 

"Jisung, I can't not worry about you. No matter how many times you fall down those stupid stairs, i will still ask and I will still want to patch you up. Atleast let me do this much. I won't ask further if you don't want me to but j-just let me in."

The boy stood still, his eyes searching Minho's face for something which the older didn't know, so he held his breath. Finally he felt the boy relax in his hold and heard him sigh.

"Fine."

He quirked his eyebrow at the other and the younger elaborated. 

"Fine I'll let you help me."

He beamed at the other pulling him into a hug but quickly let go when Jisung cried out in pain and looked down to see the boy holding his side. Letting go of the boy he gently pushed him into a chair and knelt in front of him. 

"Show me."

Jisung blushed, blinking rapidly but then slowly pulled the hem of his shirt up. Minho was momentarily distracted by the smooth expanse of honey skin and a well toned stomach, but that was soon overcome by shock when he saw a large purpling bruise on the left half of his abdomen. 

"What the fuck!"

He brought his fingers towards it but stopped to look up, silently asking for the other's permission. Jisung bit down on his lip before shyly nodding, keeping his eyes trained on the older. He gently traced his fingers along the edge of the others bruise causing the boy to shiver under his touch. 

"How many times did he kick you?"

Jisung kept shut but when Minho looked up at him through his lashes, the boy kinda lost it. He gulped audibly at the view of the older kneeling between his legs and looking up at him _like that_ , making his brain run a mile a minute with dangerous thoughts lurking around. He was abit out of it and without even meaning to he answered.

"Two-Three times i don't know."

Minho clicked his tongue and stood up, tugging the boy up with him. 

"Come on."

Jisung gave him a confused look, "Where?"

"My apartment."

Was all he said before pulling the boy behind him not waiting for the other's answer. Although he came to an abrupt stop when Jisung tugged hard at his hand which was still wrapped around the others wrist. 

"Why?"

There was a hesitant edge to the others voice and he turned around to face Jisung, seeing him look at him with a guarded expression. He hated that. 

"My apartment is like a 5 min walk from here and i have ice pack there."

Jisung just stood his ground and Minho sighed, running his free hand through his locks messing them up. 

"Do you trust me Jisung?"

Jisung looked abit surprised but then answered with a soft, "Yes."

He couldn't help but give a smile at the others reply. Without another word he grabbed the others bag and threw it over his shoulder while keeping his other hand still locked onto Jisung's wrist. 

"Then come on." 

Jisung still looked vary but didn't put up a fight as he was pulled along. 

The apartment was nothing too fancy, it had a living room with an attached kitchen, a single bedroom and a small bathroom. He kicked his shoes off and Jisung followed suit and then pulled the younger, taking him to his bedroom.

"Wait here."

Jisung's eyes turned huge and he thought the boy looked alot like a lost puppy. Smiling to himself, he left the other and went to fetch the ice pack and a towel.

He walked back inside to see Jisung inspecting his room. Quietly he stood back, leaning against the door frame to observe as Jisung moved around his room, from the dresser to the tiny desk and then finally to the shelf beside his bed. Minho loved reading and had a huge collection of novels and mangas alike. 

He tiptoed his way behind the boy and placed his head over the younger's shoulder causing Jisung to jump back in surprise. This made him press further against Minho's chest and he heard Jisung inhale sharply.

He was afraid of the boy finding out how fast his heart was beating but couldn't bring himself to move back. Slowly he wrapped one hand around Jisung's waist, careful of the bruise and felt the boy shudder, which made him smirk as he hovered his lips over the other's neck.

"As much as i like this position, i need to treat your injury." He whispered into the other's ear causing goosebumps to break onto the younger's skin.

Jisung hid his face behind his hands causing Minho to chuckle at the other's shyness, _"Cute."_

"Shut up."

He pulled back a little only to move them to the bed, and pushed the younger down, making him fall on his back, and internally groaned at the view. Jisung was sprawled over his bed, his hair fanned around in a blue halo and chest rising and falling rapidly. He shifted his gaze to the other's face and let out a low growl, Jisung's eyes were wide open with surprise, his plush lips parted and a blush spread over his cheeks. He looked breathtaking.

He was having a hard time controlling himself, his hold on sanity gradually slipping. He tried to take a step back but a tiny whine from the other broke whatever little composure he had left.

Throwing one leg over the boy, he straddled his hips but kept his weight on his legs, folding them on each side of the other, not wanting to hurt him. Jisung was looking up at him with doe like eyes as he brought his hand forward to brush the others bangs away from his face.

He smirked when Jisung shuddered and turned crimson as he placed small touches on the younger's skin. His hands trailing down his cheeks, neck and then over his chest. He hadn't done much, yet the boy looked almost wrecked and he couldn't help but breath out, 

"Beautiful."

Jisung brought one hand up to hide his burning face and Minho cooed. 

"M-Minho what are you doing."

He ignored the lack of honorifics, enjoying how rough the boy's voice had gotten. He gave an innocent smile down at him before picking up the icepack that he had previously thrown on the bed.

"I'm just treating your injury Sungie."

Jisung avoided his gaze which just made him grin before he shifted back slightly. Wanting to draw out more reactions he tilted his head with a fake exasperated look and whispered in a sweet voice, 

"You know i can't do anything with this shirt in the way Baby."

Jisung looked like he was either going to combust or murder Minho which made the older laugh out loud. The said boy looked up to see Minho laughing and in his sudden boost of confidence pushed himself up, coming face to face with a now very much flustered and owlishly blinking Minho. 

"Hyung~" Jisung purred causing Minho's eyes to darken and fall to the younger's lips. Lifting the older's head back up so that he was looking him in the eye Jisung smiled sweetly,

"Eyes up here." 

With that Jisung leaned back on the bed, satisfied with the way Minho's was harshly breathing through his mouth, his face and neck flushed.

Minho shook himself out of his hazy state to see a smug looking Jisung grin at him. Wanting to get back at the boy he leaned his weight forward only to jerk back when the boy winced, letting out a gasp. Realizing he had pressed near the bruise he quickly climbed off the other.

"Sorry sorry!"

Jisung just smiled through his pained expression, "It's okay hyung."

Mentally kicking himself for getting distracted, he tried to calm down and get back to the real reason he had brought the younger here. He lifted the other's shirt, just enough to reveal the bruise and placed the ice pack, covering it with a towel. He got off of the bed and without even looking at the boy made his way to the kitchen to grab some painkillers and water. 

Once inside the kitchen he placed his hand on his chest trying to slow down his heartbeat. He had no idea as to why he always seemed to lose control in the others company. He chastised himself for crossing the line but a nagging voice inside him reminded him that not once had the younger pulled back either, which only served to confuse him more.

Not wanting to waste any more time on his jumbled up thoughts and feelings, he walked back to the room only to see Jisung looking at him with a hurt expression from where he was lying on the bed. 

He sat himself down at the edge trying to keep a small distance between their bodies and gave Jisung the medicine and water. He was ready to leave but felt a small tug at his sleeve which sent a weird sensation through his chest.

Looking at the boy he was met with the sight of Jisung worrying his lips while staring at his hands with a frown. Letting out a deep breath, he realized how his earlier actions must've confused the boy. He brought his free hand up to brush the others hair which made Jisung look up at him, he could see the small hope in the boy's eyes and his heart nearly shattered. 

"Sleep Jisung, you need rest."

The other only shook his head, "Can't, I have to go back."

He stared at the boy, not even realizing that he had spoken up until he heard his own voice softly whisper,  
"Stay."  
He cringed at the pleading lilt slipping into that single word but didn't take it back.

Jisung's expression fell, his eyes dropping down to avoid looking at the others face and with in a small voice he replied, "I'm sorry..."

Minho looked away, disappointment eating him from the inside. He took a look at his alarm clock and with a more firm voice said. 

"Its 3 am. At least rest for a while and I'll wake you up."

Jisung seemed to be torn between leaving right there and then or listening to the other, but one pleading look from Minho had his resolve crumbling and he huffed out, 

"Fine but don't forget to wake me."

He happily smiled down at the other, his previous disappointment melting away. 

"Sweet dreams Sungie~"

He turned the light off and was nearly out of the door when he heard a soft, "Sweet dreams hyung."

There was a goofy smile etched onto his face when he walked to the living room. Realizing he was still wearing the other's jacket he took it off and placed it on a chair. Plopping down on the couch, he made himself comfortable but tried to sit straighter when he felt his eye lids droop. He tried to shake his head to get rid of the tiredness creeping up on him but before he could even fight the sudden onslaught of drowsiness he felt himself going slack and was out like a light. 

Minho groggily woke up to his ringtone blasting near his head. He turned over, ready to go back to sleep as the obnoxious sound stopped, only for it to start again causing him to angrily swipe against the screen.

"WHAT!"

He heard a nervous chuckle followed by Felix's deep voice,

"Good morning to you too. I was just checking up on you since the shop was closed when i came in for my shift."

He blinked several times, confused but then last night's events came crashing on him.

_Shit._

"Felix I'll call you back bye!" He canceled the call, checking the time. 

"Shit! Shit! Shit!."

6:07 am was blaring angrily at him and he all but stumbled to his room. He couldn't help but take a moment to admire the beautiful mess on his bed that was Han Jisung. 

The boy had his body wrapped around a pillow, his mouth opened in a 'O' with light snores leaving. He looked so peaceful like this and Minho didn't want to disturb him but knew that he had to. Moving to sit beside the sleeping boy he softly called out. 

"Hey Sungie. Wake up it's late."

Jisung just mumbled incoherently and snuggled more into the pillow. He wanted to enjoy the sight for abit longer but the urgency of the situation was causing him to grow anxious. He poked the others squishy cheeks. 

"Jisung-ah Wake up you're late."

Jisung just rasped out a, "Fibe more minute." But Minho wasn't having any of it.

He pulled the boy up by his arms and shook him. 

"Jisung its 6 am!"

That seemed to snap the boy from his slumber who jerked away, scared and then stared at Minho. He felt bad for waking the other like this but he had a feeling that something wrong was going to happen if he hadn't. Jisung looked at him carefully before letting out a hoarse, 

"W-What?"

"Its 6am. I'm sorry i fell asleep and-" 

He didn't get time to finish because Jisung was scurrying from the bed, stumbling out of the room and running straight to the door within seconds. Minho grabbed the other just in time before he could get out of the door but Jisung just roughly jerked his hand off looking terrified and muttering under his breath. Minho strained his ear and could barely hear the faint. 

_'He's going to kill me. Fuck. I shouldn't have slept. He will kill me.'_

Minho froze, who's going to kill Jisung? Why was the boy so scared?

He could only stand there and watch as Jisung ran outside, forgetting his bag and jacket in his hurry to get away. He felt his blood run cold and found himself rooted to the spot, if something happened to Jisung it would be Minho's fault. He cursed himself before sliding down against the wall not bothering to close the door. He had once again fucked up. 

***************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if things escalated too fast for people but this story was originally a oneshot... so this just happened 😅
> 
> Thank you for reading... and reading your comments make me alot happy are verryyyy much appreciated! Thank u for them!


	7. You Have No Idea What You Do To Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here ya go folks... the main chap finally out... I have no idea if this storyline was predictable or not... Although i hope it's good and doesn't disappoint you all.. 
> 
> Also! Shoutout to my DOBBY!!! The first half is for you love!!! Enjoy!!!

Jisung ran, faster than ever, cold breeze biting at his skin and the surrounding blurred into blobs of colors, painted by the morning light. His muscles ached while his lungs screamed at him to stop and breathe, but he couldn't afford being any more late, he had to get back soon. 

_If_ he had any luck then the man might have slept-in late just this once, which would give him enough time to get inside without the other noticing. His thoughts took a wrong turn when the possibility of the man being awake and waiting crossed his mind, which made him force his legs to increase speed, his breathing getting more and more laboured. 

He fell to his knees as soon as the gate came into view, his body giving out due to fatigue and lack of oxygen. The air sharply cutting through his throat as he hungrily gulped large amounts of it, trying to catch his breath. Not wanting to waste more time, he quickly reached inside his pocket and retrieved the key, staggering to his feet.

Slowly, keeping the sound of his harsh breaths to a mininum he slipped inside the door locking it behind him, which felt more like locking himself in a prison than home, _if he could even call it that_. Letting out a sigh of relief, he turned around only to jump back with a startled shriek. 

There standing at the foot of the stairs was none other than his uncle, who just so happened to be his worst nightmare. His body started to tremble, teeth clattering even though the other hadn't even said or moved yet.

The man then stepped forward just as he took a step back, trying to put as much distance between them as possible which caused the man to glower.

"Why are you scared Jisung-ah?"

The man's voice was soft, laced with concern which would've deceived anyone but him. He knew what the man actually was... a psychotic monster in a human's hide. 

When he didn't reply, the man clicked his tongue taking large strides towards him. Cowering back he hit the door behind him, the knob painfully digging into his spine.

"Jisung-ah, you know how i _hate_ it when you sneak out."

He couldn't help but let out a miserable whimper, panic clouding his mind as he tried to come up with an excuse, 

"I j-just went for a w-walk."

The man smiled, showing off his perfectly aligned white teeth. Gently the other reached out to trace his finger along Jisung's face and he recoiled away from the touch. This made the man drop his fake smile and he pressed his nail hard into his cheek, breaking the soft skin with a sting. He clamped his mouth shut even as he felt a trickle of wetness run down his face. 

"Jisung Jisung Jisung. What did i teach you about lying? You know how much i dislike cheeky little bastards who lie."

Jisung shuddered and looked away only for the man to roughly grab his face and jerk it back, so that their eyes could meet. He let out a cry at that, 

"Please l-let me go, i promise it won't happen again."

The man grinned and dragged his hand down until it rested on Jisung's neck, feeling his heartbeat sky rocket against the skin. Then, the man closed his hand around it in one swift move causing Jisung's eyes to widen as his expression morphed into one of unadulterated terror.

He tried to pull away the hand that was choking him, but the man just tightened his hold further, completely cutting off the air passage. He spluttered, desperately trying to claw at it. 

Jisung's brain was painfully pounding against his skull and black dots blurred his vision as he tried to pitifully breathe around the restraint. Just when his face turned a horrible bluish purple and he was about to faint, the man loosened his hold causing him to fall down, greedily breathing in large gulps of air. 

He felt light headed and briefly wondered if getting knocked out would be better than what was about to come. Before he could even get his breathing under control, the man swung his foot, hitting him directly at the bruise on his abdomen causing him to let out a howl of pain. He was clutching at his stomach when the man roughly grabbed his collar, pulling him up and slamming him to the door. 

"Didn't you use the same excuse not even a week ago? You should either get better at sneaking or lying, you fucking rat." 

Jisung barely managed to stay upright as the man all but dragged him upstairs and threw him inside his room. He was whimpering on the floor when he heard the sound of leather snapping. Horrified he looked up to see the man holding his belt, the crazed look in his eyes and wide smile on his face making him seem even more sinister.

He wanted to run away but earlier in his life, he had learnt the hard way that trying to hide from the beating would only get him a much brutal one. So he stayed put on the ground, even though his entire body was begging him to just get away, feeling close to losing his mind as the seconds ticked by. 

The man slowly circled around him like a predator around prey and he felt raw fear clutch his heart, squeezing the poor organ. He opened his mouth to apologize again but quickly shut up when the man growled at him. Curling into a ball he tried to make himself as little as possible, wanting less skin available to be hit on, but the man seemed to have other plans for this time. 

"Take your shirt off."

Jisung went rigid, never had the man ordered such a thing before. Panic bubbled up inside him as he frantically shook his head. He heard the man let out an irritated 'tsk' before a sharp burning sensation struck his back and he fell forward with a pained scream. _It hurt_. It hurt so fucking much. 

He was barely able to push back up when the man dug his heel between his shoulder blades causing him to lay flat on his chest. The man kept adding pressure and Jisung let out a strangled cry, feeling his ribs ready to break under the added weight. 

"Shirt Off Now!"

The man lifted his foot so he could push himself into a sitting position to take his shirt off. He dared to glance at the man's face and felt humiliation poisonously churn his insides. The hungry look on his face, as the man eyed him caused Jisung's gut to twist in disgust and he had to look away, trying his best to hide himself with his hands, which was only a last futile attempt to preserve his dignity as the shirt was removed. 

"My my what a beautiful body. Imagine the things you could do with this." 

The man slid his fingers down Jisung's chest and he flinched at that, feeling nausea wrench his stomach. Bile rose up his throat making his eyes sting, and the urge to throw up was overwhelming. The man started to roam his hands all over his upper body, occasionally scratching to leave red marks and all he felt was dirty and repulsed. Before he even knew what he was doing, he pushed the man away.

Eyes going wide, he instantly shrank away in terror, cursing himself for touching the other. The man's face turned an angry red before he brought down his belt on Jisung, the buckle slapping his skin and tearing it, making him scream at the scorching hot pain. Blearily he put his hands up to protect his face leaving the rest of his body vulnerable, crying out when hit after hit tore his body apart as he tried to crawl away. 

Their session countinued for a lot longer than usual and his agonized screams were a constant throughout. By the end of it, his throat was dry and scratched but that was the last of his worries. He was lying face forward on the floor, unable to move even a single muscle after the man had left him, tired of beating the _'good-for-nothing-runt'._

He was strangely numb, his tears ducts having emptied and dried up halfway through the torture. Sure his body was throbbing in extreme pain and he could feel blood ooze from the lacerations on his abused skin but his mind was utterly blank. 

He didn't know what time it was or what day it was, not that it mattered. His phone buzzed and he took it out of his backpocket, surprised that it hadn't taken a hit and broke. He unlocked the screen to see a few notifications, all of them from Minho. His heartstrings tugged at the thought of the older and fresh new tears started flowing down his cheeks, from the formerly empty glands. 

How could he face the other in this state, it would break the older's heart and Jisung would rather take another session of beating than hurt Minho. The thought shocked him slightly but he let himself accept the fact that the cute barista was more than just a friend now, and he was willing to do whatever for the older.

Several missed calls and messages hooled his notification bar. The messages ranging from,

'Did you reach back safely?',    
'I'm sorry i didn't wake you up on time',    
'Jisung please reply back I'm really worried',    
'Are you alright??',    
'Please just reply',    
'I'll wait for you tonight, I'm sorry.'

Jisung clutched the phone close to his chest as he sobbed miserably on the floor. He knew it wasn't the older's fault, it wasn't like he had told him the reason he left sharply at 5 am. 

The thought of the older waiting for him caused butterflies to flutter and his heart to constrict at the same time. He knew the older would keep on waiting but he couldn't go, atleast not tonight. So he quickly typed a-

'Can't come tonight. 

I'm alright don't worry.'

-and turned his phone off, not knowing if he'd be able to hold back if the other texted or called him again. 

After lying in the same positon for what felt like hours he slowly sat up only to feel the cuts on his skin rip open, causing more blood to drip. A wave of dizziness hit him but he forced himself to get to the bathroom, not bothering to look at the mirror. He'd seen himself enough times to know just how he looked after his uncle's frequent stress-reliever-entertaining-beating-sessions. 

  
The neighbors were high class pricks who only cared about their own lives and money, hence in all the years that he had been locked up in this hell, not once did anyone check up on the shrieking shack. The people at his school had never asked him about the bruises that were almost always littered on his face, nor about the way he would limp around.

No one dared to, because of his filthy rich and powerful uncle as well as the rumors about Jisung being involved in shady things which was another one of his uncle's scheme to ruin whatever little was left of his life. The few people who bothered talking to him just wanted to smooch money off him, use him for their own selfish reasons or just beat him for their stuck up sense of superiority.

He didn't trust anyone, not after the day his own parents dumped him at his uncle's doorstep and ran away when he was just 12. He hadn't known what was going on when his so called parents packed whatever stuff he had and dropped him in front of a huge mansion, ordering him 'not to move'. Those people were incredibly short tempered and he had been beaten into discipline and obedience enough times to not go against them, hence he stayed outside the door sitting on the porch.

Opening the door, his uncle was revolted by the mere sight of him and had tied him up in the backyard, not wanting prying eyes to see the boy. It had taken days but finally the man took him in and later on he found out the very reason. The man was a sadistic piece of crap and lacked entertainment in his shitty life, so he filled that empty slot by tormenting the boy and beating him up for his sick pleasure. 

Jisung had never had someone who cared or worried for him.... until Lee Minho came into his life, or rather he walked into the older's life. With his easy smiles, playful teasings, worried looks and careful hands like he was afraid that Jisung would shatter at one wrong touch, which he probably would. He had been vary of the other in the start, not wanting to risk opening upto someone he barely even knew but the older had gradually earned his trust, a place in his heart and something even more. 

Jisung hissed loudly, muffling the painful wails with his hand as he stepped under the shower, turning it to luke warm. The bright red welts on his skin stung horribly as the water cascaded down, but he had to wash them at the very least before they got infected. 

After the painful shower which left him more exhausted than refreshed, he changed into a large T-shirt and some sweats, timidly getting under his duvet. He closed his eyes willing himself to sleep and prayed to whoever was out there to not get nightmares just this once. 

He was out cold within minutes and only when his alarm clock started to ring did he wake up. Looking at the time he was surprised to find out that he had slept thoughout the night without a hitch, maybe it was because of how much tired and battered his body was. 

Groaning he tried to sit up, his body still feeling very much tormented and sore. Giving up, he slumped back on the sheets, unable to move anymore and decided to just stay in for today, not like anyone would care.

**************

Minho was pacing around his apartment, gnawing at his lips which were raw and bleeding by now. He had called and texted the boy many times after the other had rushed out in that state but there had been no reply until late in the noon which was both short and nothing like Jisung and worried him greatly.

Even though the mesage had told him not to, he still found himself waiting for the boy at the café, but Jisung didn't show up. He tried calling the other again but the boy's phone was off and negative thoughts perturbed his head as he made his way back home after his shift. 

He hadn't heard from the other since yesterday and was unable to sleep a wink. He called in sick at his company and spent his entire day at the café until his shift started. 

Running his hands through his hair which were already messy and sticking up in all directions, he stood at the counter, unable to do anything but wait for the boy to show up. Yesterday Jisung didn't come but that didn't mean that he had given up on waiting. If anything it only fueled his concern and he realized that he was willing to wait however long for the boy if it meant that he'd finally get to see him.

He hadn't taken his eyes off the door, anxiety pooling deep inside him as the minutes passed by. When the bell suddenly chimed, he practically leapt towards the door and saw the familiar hooded head come inside. The said boy jumped back at the sudden attack, a guttural shout ripping from his throat. 

Minho stopped just a few feet away from the other, dread filling him as he watched the boy tremble. Slowly he reached forward and intertwined his fingers with Jisung's, whispering,

"Hi."

Jisung blinked at him before his eyes brimmed with tears and a choked sob left his mouth. Delicately he pulled the boy towards him but went stiff when the boy cried out in pain as soon as his hand landed on his back. Moving a step away, he stared at the boy who's face was scrunched up in pain. A terrifying realization sinking in, 

_Jisung was hurt, and it was because of him._

"H-Hyung can we go to your apartment?" 

Jisung sounded small and unsure, his voice breaking and Minho felt someone stab his heart with a blunt knife. Not trusting his own voice he just pulled the boy with him to the apartment. 

Not able to look at the other as shame coursed through his body, he kept his eyes glued to the path during the whole walk and as soon as they were inside the apartment, he tried to run to the kitchen to grab the first aid kit but stopped when he felt hands grab his shirt from behind. He didn't want to turn around, he couldn't look at the boy without breaking down himself, not yet. 

"I have to get the kit." He moved out of the weak grasp feeling something break inside of him. 

As he came out of the kitchen, he found the boy still standing in front of the door, arms wrapped around his body in an attempt to comfort himself. When the younger heard him come, he looked up with a sad and dejected expression. 

"Are you m-mad at me?"

"What?" Minho was thoroughly confused, did Jisung think he was angry at him?

Jisung dropped his gaze, "I'm sorry."

Minho moved towards the other.

"Why are _you_ apologizing. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. You're hurt because of me. I-I should've woken you up on time. I don't know what happened to you but it's because of me a-and i'm just, I'm so sorry."

Jisung frowned at the other, "What?"

He looked away, feeling the regret and guilt crash over him in waves as his eyes watered.

Jisung placed his palm on his face making him turn to the boy in surprise. It was the younger who was hurt but here he was, getting comforted instead, _the irony_.

"Minho Hyung, whatever happened to me was not your fault." 

When he opened his mouth to argue Jisung shushed him with a finger pressed to his lips.

"It wasn't your fault hyung. Trust me."

Minho trusted the boy, but still the lingering feeling of being the culprit behind the boy's misery weighed down on his shoulders. He let out a sigh, knowing there was a much bigger issue at hand, the boy's wounds. 

He didn't dare touch the boy anywhere other than his hand, not knowing where and just how much the boy was hurt. He tugged Jisung to the bedroom and settled down on the bed with him. The younger was fidgeting, eyes darting around and Minho ruffled the boy's hair, trying to put him at ease. 

"Sungie can you take off your hoodie?" 

When the boy made no attempt to move, purposefully staring at his hands folded in his lap, Minho shifted towards him. He tried to catch the boy's eye but failed to, so instead cupped his cheeks causing the younger's breath to get caught.

The boy finally looked at him, his eyes shining with unshed tears. He rubbed his thumb against the other's cheek in soothing circles and in a moment of bravado pressed a light peck on it, causing the boy to blush and go taut. 

Jisung's mouth hung open, eyes turning big as he let out a shuddering breath. Minho just smiled at him and booped his nose against the boy's, eliciting a giggle from the other. Leaning back he saw the younger look at him with crinkled eyes full of fondness and couldn't stop the goofy smile that broke out on his own face.

"You have no idea what you do to me Han Jisung."

Jisung's mouth twitched before he rolled his eyes, "I think i have a very good idea Hyung."

Minho gave the boy one last smile as the seriousness of the situation once again settled between his ribs like a dull ache. 

"Sungie please take off your hoodie so that i can see."

Jisung once again dropped his eyes to his fingers, which he nervously fiddled with. Minho wanted nothing more than to hold his hands but something kept him from doing that, so instead he let the boy take his time. 

-

Jisung was internally freaking out at the idea of showing Minho his scarred body but a small part of him wanted to know how the older would react to it, if he'll accept this side of Jisung too... 

Breathing deeply he turned his back to the older and without giving it another thought pulled his hoodie off. Minho went rod still behind him and he had half a mind to make a run for it but forced himself to stay still.

He was holding his breath waiting for the older to do or say something but they continued to be enveloped in a suffocating silence, the only sound being that of his heart's erratic thumps. He couldn't take it any longer and turned around only to see the older frozen in place, his eyes wide as tears strolled down his face. Worried he cupped the other's face which snapped the older out of whatever trance he was in. 

"I-I...." Minho's voice broke and no matter how many times he cleared his throat no other sound came out. 

Jisung took matters into his own hands then, grabbing the older's hands and rubbing his thumb on his wrist, just like the older had done for him countless other times. 

It was funny how the older was the one who needed consoling right now, not that he was complaining. He was actually glad that for once he could provide solace to the older too. He looked into Minho's eyes finding not the disgust that he had expected but pain and sorrow which made his heart ache.

Dragging his gaze down to their linked hands, he spoke up, his voice barely above a whisper. He decided to tell the other everything about him, even though it would put whatever they have in danger if the older decided to leave someone like him. 

"I'll start from the beginning...."

He told the older all about his life, choosing to opt out the gory and torturous details. Though that didn't matter much since the other had first hand seen the aftermaths of many. 

Jisung told him about his parents abandoning him at his uncle's doorstep. How his uncle had abused him over the years and how no one said anything against that powerful man.

His voice cracked at multiple instances and the older didn't show any reaction, his expression blank, other than the few times he squeezed his hand in silent support. He explained how bullies took a liking to target him because of money and the obvious lack of concern from his guardian and how the neighbors were never fazed by the shouts from next door. 

He didn't dare look up at the older the entire time, too embarrassed by the sob story of his messed up life.

"It wasn't until i met you that i found out that there were actually good people in this world too. You're the first person i put my trust in a-and it scares me but it feels good too. Having someone worry about me, look after me and just be themselves around me is all new. People never approached me for anything other than their own self-seeking reasons.... I forgot how it felt like to be with someone not because of need but out of want. Thank you, for-"

His speech was unexpectedly cut off as a pair of soft lips landed on his. He let out a squeak but didn't move to push the other away. Unfortunately too soon, the older pulled back and he had to stop himself for whining in disappointment. He gaped at Minho who was blushing just like him but had his eyes turned away. 

Through the thick fog clouding his brain he faintly heard the older say.

"I'm sorry." 

Although Minho didn't look sorry at all with that shit-eating grin on his face which highly contrasted his words but Jisung didn't mind that, heck he didn't even have a mind at this point. It short-circuited a while back and he was totally out of it. It took him a while to realize that Minho was now looking directly at him and he quickly hid his burning face in his hands causing the older to chuckle at that but then all playfulness left the other. 

"Jisung you're not going back to that house."

Minho's voice held a sense of finality and he looked up, only to shake his head which made the older's worried expression turn into an angry one, he didn't like that look one bit. 

Minho who was flirty, who smiled alot, who had a blank look, and who made funny faces, who looked worried, those are the ones Jisung knew, not the one with an angry look, especially when it was directed at him. 

"Jisung, either i walk down to that fuckers home and beat the shit out of him or you stay here with me and never go back."

He hurriedly scrambled foward grabbing the older's arm, worried he'd go hunting for his uncle which wasn't entirely impossible considering Minho's words held such sincerity in them. He would much rather die than put the older in harm's way. 

"Please Hyung don't, you can't."

Minho seemed to soften at his terrified voice and gently tugged him towards his chest, careful of his wounds and whispered, "Stay."

Jisung vigorously shook his head letting out a string of, "No, no, no..."

Th older looked furious at his refusal, exclaiming loudly,   
"WHY-"   
but quickly shut his mouth as soon as he flinched back at the older's raised voice. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Hyung's sorry, I shouldn't have shouted. Oh shit- Sungie calm down please."

He was shaking like a leaf, memories of his uncle's shouts resonating through his head as he fought to push down the darkness pulling him in. 

-

Minho held the younger face tenderly, the anguished look in the boy's eyes chipping away at his heart, he shouldn't have raised his voice at the other. _Shit_.

Pressing their foreheads together he hummed softly in an attempt to calm the boy. and finally after few long minutes he felt Jisung relax under his touch. 

Breathing out a sigh of relief he spoke up, this time keeping his voice soft and low, 

"Why won't you stay Jisung?"

The younger looked at him, his eyes filled with tears yet again and Minho wanted nothing more than to wrap the boy up in a blanket burrito and protect him from the world. 

"T-The last time i tried to run away, h-he found me within hours and it-"

Jisung bit his lower lip to stop it from quivering, 

"He locked me up after beating me and didn't give me food or water for three days a-and he- Hyung i can't. I'm sorry i can't, he'll find me and he'll find you and then hurt you too. I can't let that happen." 

Unrelenting sobs rattled Jisung's frail form once more and Minho concluded that he didn't like seeing the boy cry one bit, it hurt him too. He pulled the other into a hug, threading his fingers through the messy blue curls, trying his best to soothe the weeping boy. 

His heart ached for the boy and for what he had been put through but the knowledge that he couldn't do anything to help him stung the most. He felt like punching something or rather _someone_ , frustrated at his own uselessness.

When Jisung stopped crying, Minho pulled away and grabbed the medical supplies to treat the wounds on his back. The boy kept quiet like all the other times only letting out hisses time to time as he cleaned the cuts with alcohol. After he was done, he gave the other painkillers and told him to rest. 

"But Hyung i can't-"

"I know," 

He caressed Jisung's face, smiling at the light flush of pink on the boy's cheeks. 

"I'll wake you up at 4am."

When Jisung opened his mouth, Minho silenced him with a pointed look. He was still guilt-ridden over what had happened to the boy because of him and was going to make sure he didn't mess things up this time. 

"I promise i will wake you up, I'm sorry about last time."

Jisung pouted and he felt a hint of a smile on his own lips. The boy then pulled Minho's hand away from his face and suddenly tugged him down. 

He let out an undignified yelp and barely managed to stop himself from falling over the boy. His free arm landing beside Jisung's head to hold his weight and not accidentally crush the younger. He let out a gruff,

"You know it would've hurt like a bitch if i had fallen on you."

Jisung just shrugged and then with a shy smile said, 

"Will you lie down with me?"

Who was Minho to say no? So with grin like a cheshire cat he climbed under the duvet with the younger. Being extra careful as he wrapped his arm around Jisung and pulled the boy's onto him, such that he was half laying over Minho's chest. 

He smiled when he felt Jisung's rapid heartbeat, the boy's face tucked into the crook of his neck. He shuddered when the other's warm breath fanned over his neck followed by a small peck, his cheeks heating up at the sudden attack. Snuggling closer to the younger's body, he felt warmth enclose his body as well as his heart.

The last thing he heard was the softly whispered, 

"Thank you hyung." 

Before the boy went limp in his arms.

Minho couldn't sleep even if he wanted to, thoughts about Jisung and what had happened to the young boy plagued his mind and he wanted nothing more to kill the scoundrel who had hurt and tormented the younger for so many years. 

He didn't know how but he sure as hell wouldn't let the boy stay at that shit-hole any longer. He'll think about his plan of action, but later, right now letting himself enjoy the feeling of holding onto the boy who had somehow managed to steal his heart. 

Minho had been reluctant to let the boy go back to that monster's place but Jisung had been stubborn as well as valid in his reasons so in the end he begrudgingly let the boy go. Not without rechecking the bandages, fretting over his health and force feeding him early breakfast. Jisung had giggled through the whole mother-hen ordeal but hadn't stopped him. Letting the older do whatever he wanted to, if that meant he'd be at peace, for a little while. 

************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!! 💜💜 Comments are totally and aloottt appreciated... i read all of them and they provide alot of Motivation to keep writing... so thank u for commenting and making my days happier my dearest readers✨✨✨


	8. Snippets and Fluff (or i hope it's fluff)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i don't know if what i tried to write is even fluff but i did try.... its not totally fluff but... yeah... moving on
> 
> This chapter is like a filler? i think? i mean half of this was planned from start but half of it i added recently. Everything in this chapter leads upto the final chapter so maybe it's not a filler but like a bridge... 
> 
> Hope you enjoy! One of my fav part in this whole fic is also in this chap ;)

It was becoming a common thing for Minho to inspect every inch of Jisung's body as soon as the boy was within arm's reach. Rolling up the boy's sleeves and patting down, sometimes even poking. 

He decided that it was in everyone's best interest, for him to not bluntly ask the boy to **_'Strip'_** after he shamelessly had, and the younger had choked on his own spit and almost passed out, stunned by the brazen demand. 

He made sure the boy ate something at the café even though the younger would whine about being overfull and how he ate home-cooked food at 'that place'. But that didn't deter him from shoving sandwiches and cakes into the younger's mouth at every possible chance. 

Just before Jisung would leave, he'd find himself asking the younger the same question.

It was becoming a routine, even though he knew the answer wouldn't change no matter how much he wanted it to. With a fake resigned look and barely concealed hopeful voice he'd ask the boy. 

"Stay?"

To which the other would weakly reply,

"I'm sorry."

And just like that hours turned into days and days into weeks. He had brainstormed to find ways to get Jisung out of that horrid place but was frustratingly coming up short.

In his desperation he had conceded in Chan about the whole situation and the older was doing his best to find a solution too. They just hoped, they wouldn't be too late to save the boy.

**************

Minho was cleaning the storage room when the bells chimed and a smile automatically grew on his face. Dropping the broom, he walked to the counter ready to greet the boy but halted in his steps when he saw the younger's body hit the floor with a resonating 'thud'.

A million thoughts ran through his brain while he ran to the unmoving body, dropping down to it. 

"Jisung. Wake up!"

"Hey Sungie. Come on get up please."

A few tears rolled down his face as he craddled the boy's head. He checked the other's pusle, relieved to find one. 

Pressing his palm against the other's forhead he gasped, Jisung was burning up. Quickly he gathered the boy in his arm and carried him to the backroom which had an old couch. 

Delicately placing the other on the couch he rushed back and locked the café before grabbing supplies to tend to the unconscious feverish boy. 

-

It was three hours later that the younger opened his eyes to see Minho's face pressed onto his chest while the older's body was awkwardly slumped on a chair beside the couch. 

A lump formed in his throat and he stifled a sob, as self deprecating thoughts filled his head. He felt awful for always making the older look after him. 

His movements must've roused the older as the other blinked up at him, giving such a warm smile that he had to look away, he didn't deserve this. 

"Hey, are you alright?"

The older's voice was rough due to sleep and it did a few things to him but he kept shut, only giving a curt nod.

"Jisung, what's wrong?"

He shook his head. There was nothing wrong, it was just him, _he was the problem._

"Look at me Jisung."

He still shook his head, feeling the tears finally break free and roll down. 

"Sungie...."

The older got up from the chair, settling on the couch as he pulled him up too, pressing him to his sturdy chest as he hummed a sweet melody and ran his fingers through the fading blue locks. 

Jisung finally let go of his emotions as he bawled his eyes out, uncaring of how ugly he looked or sounded. He was overwhelmed with everything that was going on and on top of that he felt like a nuisance, always adding his weight onto the older's shoulders. 

"I-I don't want to be a burden to you anymore Hyung. I'll s-stop-"

He quickly shut his mouth as Minho pulled back to give him an unimpressed look. 

"Sung, we've talked about this. You are not a burden to me. If anything, you coming into my life was the best thing ever."

Jisung couldn't believe it, or rather he did not want to believe that someone like him could be the best thing in a person's life and a person as beautiful as Minho, both inside out at that. He dropped his head on the older's shoulder as he tried to organize his thoughts. 

He did not want to bother the older anymore, so he should walk away and never come back to spare the other all this trouble. But just this once, just this very once he wanted to be selfish. He wanted to stay with the older and feel all these positive emotions.

The older made him happy, and he didn't want to let this feeling go away so soon. Should he be selfless or selfish? 

"I can practically hear the cog wheels turning in your head Sung." Minho mumbled as he lightly flicked his forhead. 

"Know this, that I'm here because i want to be, not out of pity or something of that sort. I'm not the kind of person to keep on shouldering a dead weight so stop over thinking Sung. I'm here, you're here and that's all that matters."

Jisung sniffled, somehow the older always knew exactly what to say. He was opening his mouth to give some sad broken reply when out of nowhere fingers started poking his sides. 

He gasped loudly as laughter bubbled up from his throat. Trying to squirm away from the tickle attacks he fell to ground with a yelp and heard the older give an evil cackle before he too joined him on the floor, only to continue the ruthless finger pokes. 

-

Minho made sure to feed an extra cheesecake slice to the younger to make his mood better. Although no one needed to know that his true intention was to watch the younger's cheeks puff up as the boy stuffed his mouth with spoonfulls of cake before swallowing. 

He was picking up the empty plates when he found himself asking yet again, 

"Stay?"

The boy turned his head away, his voice shaking as he replied, 

"I-I'm sorry."

And he left it at that, giving the boy a smile as he ruffled his hair before going back to put the dishes away. 

************

"Hyung! i told you I'm fine. They aren't even that deep."

Minho ignored the boy as he kept cleaning the cuts, muttering death threats under his breath, he was extremely pissed off right now. 

That asshole of an uncle had been getting more and more reckless with his beatings. This was the first time he had used a knife on the younger and while Jisung said that he was fine, Minho certainly wasn't. 

If that man used a knife once, who's to say he wouldn't use it again and what if the next time it's more than just a few cuts.

He shuddered, hands faltering as a picture of Jisung lying on the floor bleeding out, came to his mind.

Slowly he lifted his head to the boy who was looking at him with soft eyes and he felt his own sting.

Without a word he pulled closer to the boy and rested his forehead against the other's, he found this gesture inexplicably soothing and had been doing it alot in the last couple of days. 

"I don't want to lose you Sung."

He had his eyes closed but could still feel the boy smile. A pair of warm hands wrapped around his own and he moved back to look at the younger who had a beautiful smile on his face and Minho's heart skipped a beat. 

"Hyung, you won't lose me. I've survived for 20 years and i won't give up now, not after i finally found happiness." _~~and you~~_

He couldn't help but smile at the boy, squeezing his hands. Then he stood up, deciding to get the boy coffee and some well-deserved confectionery.

Jisung was getting ready to leave, and like all the other times, Minho couldn't help but ask, 

"Stay?"

He didn't have to look at the younger to know what kind of expression he wore, it was always wistful and full of sadness as he heard him say,

"I'm sorry."

**************

Minho was tapping furiously on the floor, Jisung was 20 min late and he was barely holding himself from barging into the night to search for the other.

He had tried calling the younger but each time, it went to voicemail. He decided to wait 10 more min before walking out to look for the boy, _fucking-rich-ass-scoundrel-uncle_ be damned. 

He had been more on edge since the night Jisung told him about his uncle's worsened aggressive outbreaks, something related to _'company ruined'_ and the boy being _'bad luck'_ and other bullshit stuff. 

That motherfucker had even gone as far as to recently attack the younger with a knife thus causing Minho to be more anxious than ever, each second that the younger was out of his sight. He was just about to grab his jacket when the bell chimed.

Whipping his head around too fast, his neck gave a crack and he growled a 'Fuck' before going to the front only to see Jisung laughing. He glared at the younger which only seemed to make the younger laugh more. 

"Hyung were you going to storm out to look for me?"

Minho crossed his arms only realizing now that he was gripping his jacket. He held his chin high,

"Is this funny? I was fucking worried-"

"Hyung I'm not even that late!" Jisung exclaimed in a high pitch, having a hard time hiding his smile.

Minho stalked towards the boy who stumbled a few steps back in surprise. He jabbed one finger on Jisung's chest causing the younger to tilt his head in confusion looking very much like a puppy.

Minho was torn between lecturing the other or kissing him senseless, hsi anger slipping away fast. 

"You didn't even answer your phone! I thought something happened to you."

Jisung gently wrapped his fingers around Minho's extended hand and smiled softly.

"Sorry hyung, i was busy with something."

Minho raised an eyebrow at that but Jisung quickly changed the topic. 

"Also i can handle myself pretty well." 

For the sake of dramatics, Jisung made a show of puffing his chest out. Minho just gave a smirk at that and using their linked hands tugged the boy towards him, their faces barely an inch apart. 

Jisung looked down at his lips and Minho's smirk only grew bigger.

He whispered, his voice dropping down a few octave, loving how it made the boy shiver.

"Lets see how much you can handle yourself baby boy." 

Jisung grew ten shades redder at the sudden nickname but didn't have much time to react as Minho gently pushed the boy away. 

"Don't let me catch you Jisung-ah."

Jisung visibly shuddered at Minho's threat and predatory gaze, and started runnning around the tables and chairs to get as far away as possible. After counting to ten he too started to walk towards the boy at a leisurely pace, only to suddenly bolt towards the younger, making him shriek. 

Jisung was trying his hardest, weaving about the chairs and throwing some in Minho's way too but years of dancing does its magic. He hadn't even broken a sweat, gracefully jumping over tables and chairs to catch the boy who looked every bit as adorable as a scared squirrel. 

He was having way too much fun, not caring about how they were wreaking havoc in the café. He could clean up later but for now he was enjoying how worked up Jisung was getting over their little cat and mouse chase. 

Jisung found himself in a corner, his eyes darting side to side to find an escape but Minho was looming right in front of the other's path.

He let out a chuckle seeing the doe-eyed boy sweating and shuffling around, he really looked like a cornered animal, and a heart breakingly cute one at that too. 

Suddenly he jumped in front of the younger causing him to let out a startled scream. The boy backed away from him but stopped once his back hit the wall.

He slammed his hand to the right of Jisung's head causing the boy to jump and try running from the left side but quickly he slammed his other hand on the opposite side too, caging the baby squirrel who's eyes were now as wide as sauce-pans. 

"Gotcha." Minho grinned at the defeated look on Jisung's face.

Inspite their position the boy pouted, 

"No fair. You have a more fit body!"

"I know."

"You're a cheater."

"I know."

"You're annoying."

"I know."

Minho leaned in slowly, not breaking his eye contact with the younger. The boy was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling quickly while he himself could feel his own heart beat wildly in his chest. 

"Y-You're an asshole."

Minho dropped his gaze to the boy's lips as Jisung bit the bottom one nervously, and leaned down close enough so that their lips brushed against each other as he whispered,

_"I know."_

Jisung shivered and looked to his side. With his hands fisted, he tried to push at Minho's chest but he quickly grabbed the boy's wrists and pinned them above his head. 

Jisung swallowed down a moan and closed his eyes when Minho started nipping at his jaw. He trailed small kisses along the boy's neck down to his collarbone making sure to to suck on them, leaving light red marks.

The younger sharply inhaled when he nibbled at a particularly sensitive spot and he grinned against his skin before biting down on the same spot causing Jisung to let out a broken whimper. He sucked on the exact spot before kissing it in apology and licking it a few times causing the boy to mewl at that. 

Jisung's eyes were glazed over and Minho was sure he himself looked just as much wrecked. He bit down on the other's bottom lip causing the younger to whine and was finally about to dive in and devour those plush lips when, out of no where, the bell chimed. 

They both jumped apart and Minho was sure he was having a mini cardiac arrest with how rapidly his heart was racing. Jisung wasn't any better either, clutching at his chest while panting, looking every bit flustered with his bottom lip red and cheeks burning. 

Minho looked up, ready to snarl at the irritating intruder but instead gasped in shock. 

_"CHAN HYUNG?"_

-

Chan was a little shaken and alot scandalized at what he had unfortunately walked in on. He shifted his gaze from the two boys and looked at the mess previously called café. 

"What the hell happened here?"

Minho rubbed his neck nervously, "I-I can explain-"

"This better be good Min."

He wasn't seriously angry, rather he was highly amused seeing the two blushing boys nervously fidget but decided to keep up the facade, only to tease the two for just a little longer. 

Later when the two boys had cleaned up the café all the while avoiding eye contact with each other, Chan handed them both a cup of coffee and settled with them around a table.

Minho seemed to snap out of his embarrassment long enough to introduce the the boy to him. 

"This is Chan hyung, he own this café and also the studio i told you about. Hyung, this is Han Jisung uh- my friend."

Ah, so he's the infamous _Han Jisung_ that Minho wouldn't shut up about. He gave a warm dimpled smile to the boy who in turn gave a shy adorable one and Chan was there and then smitten. He was going to adopt this cute baby squirrel boy and no one can convince him otherwise.

Fighting the urge to pinch the boy's cheeks he settled with smiling instead, as he gave a little wave to the other. 

"Nice to finally meet you Jisung. Hope to meet you more frequently and under less awkward circumstances."

He wiggled his eyebrows and the blush he got from the youngest was totally worth it. _Aw~_ he couldn't help but coo. 

Then he then turned to Minho and with a more scolding edge he sighed,

"Minho."

The said boy huffed in exasperation but then with the best puppy eyes he could muster looked up at Chan while making finger hearts. 

"Sorry Channie Hyung. Minnie won't do it again."

After dealing with the younger's shenanigans for years, Chan wasn't that much affected by Minho's attempt at aegyo but the squirrel boy was looking gobsmacked. He was oogling Minho with his mouth agape and Chan had to stop himself for laughing at that whipped look. 

Gesturing towards the still pouty aegyo boy he explained to the youngest. 

"Yeah he sometimes gets like that, spoiled brat."

Minho just smiled at the youngest and then turned to him only to stick his tongue out. Jisung was totally into a shocked state by the duality of his flirty hyung and Chan was enjoying this abit too much but sadly he had to leave. 

"I just came to check in-" He gave a pointed glare to Minho, who blissfully ignored it with a roll of his eyes. 

"-Be less chaotic the next time you both decide to act like hormonal teenagers."

Chan snorted at the flustered pair who were burning crimson by now and left after a short and awkward goodbye. He would definitely use this against Minho ㅋㅋㅋㅋ.

-

"Well that was....."

"Embarrassing."

Minho dropped his face in his hands mumbling a barely audible, "He won't let me live this down."

Jisung just laughed at his Hyung's state,

"Sucks to be you."

Minho peeked from between his fingers to squint at the giggling boy and couldn't help but join in on the laugh too. 

When the time came for Jisung to leave, he found himself holding the younger's wrist. His gaze locked onto the boy's hands. 

"Stay?"

Jisung just gave him a soft yet painful smile, 

"I'm sorry."

Minho only nodded and with a forced smile bid the other goodbye. 

************

Minho took the boy to his apartment a few times, when he was sure that Chan wouldn't mind the café being closed.

They tried watching different genre of movies until they came to the conclusion that Jisung _could never_ and _would never_ watch a horror movie without ripping Minho's poor arm off and waking the neighbors with his blood curdling screams.

They hadn't even gone through half the movie before Minho had shut the damn tv off and then pulled out his laptop to put some animated movie to distract the spooked boy beside him.

The younger still clutched at his dead-bloodless arm like a life line and he didn't have the heart to push the younger away, so a limb's sacrifice it was, before he decided to never put a scary movie while the younger was over. 

-

They tried cooking too, which they both quickly agreed to leave to the older when by some god forsaken miracle Jisung blew up the blender and sprayed it's contents all over the kitchen as well as the ceiling. Then to add upto the mess he burnt bacon while trying to actually _fry it_ , which now stuck to the pan with the stubbornness of a leech. 

Minho's back was permanently bent at a painful angle after he spent the whole day rubbing the damn sticky substance off but later at night when Jisung's deft fingers pleasantly pressed into his tensed muscles as the boy gave him a massage, he didn't mind the idea of scrubbing his walls again. The boy had apologized countless times while giving him one of the best massage in the history of massages. 

He hadn't been able to give a verbal reply other than the grunts and whimpers of pleasure as the younger's fingers worked their magic but after the therapy he had hugged the other and told him to _'Shut the fuck up'_ with no malice or cut to his voice and the younger had instantly relaxed. 

-

Other days it was just café and coffee with idle chats and comfortable silence and Minho was content. He could definitely get used to it, the warmth and happiness of having Jisung with him. 

They both needed to talk about their feelings and soon, because the tension between them was getting thicker and more palpable than ever, lingering touches and looks of pure want. They had come way too close far too many times and it would do them much good if they finally addressed what it was between them before snapping under the pressure. 

Minho decided to finally talk to the boy because he knew for a fact that the younger would be too shy and doubtful to openly admit to anything and he didn't want to press the boy towards any uncomfortable confession so he took it upon himself to address his feelings.

It was just the matter of getting the words out, which proved to be much harder than expected as he fumbled with words around the younger only to **_Red Alert-Abort Mission_ **and hide in the storage room to cool off his heated face and pick up the shattered pieces of his confidence more than once. But he wouldn't give up, he'd get those words out and ask the younger soon....... soon. 

**************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank u all once again (cause i can't ever stop thanking you all) for reading my work... What else i can't stop saying is how much i appreciate your comments. Recently i was under the weather due to some reason and i didn't feel like writing this story, but then beautiful comments came in and i was like GET BACK UP! and so thus and update💜💜💜


	9. Stay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Dramatic Drumrolls*
> 
> It's show time.

Jisung was getting antsy and a knot formed in the pit of his stomach. He had received a call from his uncle during class, voice dripping with venom and authority as the man ordered him to _'get his ass back'_ and that's when a feeling of uneasiness settled deep down his very bones. 

Excusing himself, not that his professor bothered asking, he made his way back, trying to delay it as much as he could by taking the longer route to the house. 

He was a block away from the place when he bumped into the house maid, a middle aged woman with a petite frame, eyes that bore into your very soul, stern voice and cooking skills to die for. His uncle had strictly instructed the woman to never interact with the boy.

Even though she never spoke a word to him but still, did little things which always made him smile a little wider, like making extra portion of his favorite dish and hiding it in the back of refrigerator, leaving a little sticky note on his dressor. 

She often cleaned up his room even though it wasn't in her work list and he felt grateful to the woman for these things, which might be trivial to others but meant a great deal to someone who hadn't been given much of free kindness. 

The woman gave him a warm smile, patting his arm as he bowed down in greeting. He walked a few paces ahead so that his uncle wouldn't get provoked but quietly asked her about her health and other things which the woman warmly replied to. 

When he opened the door a loud crash sounded and he instantly shrank in fear. The woman looked highly uncomfortable but somewhat knew about his uncle's temper issues and random outburst like that, so she hurriedly went straight into the kitchen. 

Running away was never an option for him so he took a deep breath before walking into the living room, where his uncle most probably was, if the noises were any indication.

The man was staggering around clearly intoxicated, smashing random items as shards and splinters littered the once pristine marbled floor. 

He was scared shitless but nonetheless steeled himself, although the false bravado vanished into thin air as soon as the man turned around to face him. His face was livid, the veins standing out on his neck and temple as he glared daggers at him. 

The man had never touched him while there was an audience, not wanting witnesses to his cruelty but today he looked like he was out for blood.

Snarling, he lurched forward and grabbed Jisung, spitting the words on his face. 

"IT'S YOUR FAULT! EVERYTHING IS RUINED BECAUSE OF YOU BITCH."

He had his hands clamped around Jisung's shoulders in a deathly grip as he rattled him, making him cry out as he tried to break free of the hold but the older wasn't having that.

The man hurled him against the coffee table, his back hitting the edge and an unbearably sharp pain ran up his spine. 

He shook out of the excruciating pain and looked up to see the man shouting at the maid who had walked out to see the ruckus and was feebly trying to stop him in his advances. 

He terribly wanted to tell her to run away and not anger the man anymore, afraid that he'd hurt the innocent woman but no words came out other than a mangled cry. 

The man pushed her away and she fell onto the couch. Then he walked back to him and Jisung belatedly saw the knife glint in the man's hand and his eyes widened in newfound terror.

The man was seething with anger as he slashed the blade at him and he barely dodged the attacks as he fell to his side. He desperately tried to inch away from the man, his aching back making the work ten times harder.

The man had a saccharine smile on his face as he stomped on his leg making him scream out at the sickening pain. 

"You brought your damned badluck with you and now look what happened to me. I'll kill you. I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

The man raised his hand which held the knife and brought it down in one sharp motion. 

Jisung shut his eyes, hands shielding his face as he waited for the pain. His last thought being that of a cute barista with sharp cat-like eyes and a smile that could light up the entire world. He wished he could've seen him one last time... 

*************

Minho was tired to his bones, the choreography for the new song had been tougher and the trainees were being lazier than usual. They had stretched the practice out till the evening, which meant he had barely 4 hours left before his shift would start.

His sore muscles groaned out in pain and he wanted nothing more than a hot shower and sleep, and so that's what he did. 

After he was done with the hot shower, he was already feeling much better and alive. Though before he could finally hit the bed, his phone started to ring. 

He had half a mind to ignore the call but something nagged at the inside of his skull, so with an irritated grunt he grabbed the phone off his nightstand. 

Staring at the unknown number for a second longer, he placed the phone against his ear and answered questioningly,

"Hello?"

Minho was on his feet within seconds, all rational thoughts out of the window. His heart painfully pounding against his ribcage as breathing became a difficult work. 

He hasitly grabbed his wallet before bolting out of the door, the only thoughts in his head being that of 'Police Station', 'Murder', and......

_'Han Jisung'._

Minho ran all the way to the station not wanting to waste time hailing a cab. He barely registered the cold air slashing at his skin through the still damp clothes as fear consumed his mind. 

Within 20 minutes he was in front of the station. Not bothering to catch his breath, he barged straight inside and instantly started to search around. He grabbed random people that passed by, not even noticing their uniforms in his desperation, as he asked for the boy.

He had almost ambushed through the entire floor when suddenly a familiar voice reached his ears and he whipped around almost breaking his frequently abused neck. 

_"H-Hyung?"_

***************

His eyes were tightly shut but the pain never came. Slowly he opened one lid and saw someone's back to him, arms spread out in a protective stance. 

Breath catching in his throat he realized that the woman had thrown herself in between him and the knife.. why... Why... **_WHY!!_**

Shakily he got to his feet, watching as the woman's body writhed as blood spilled past her alarmingly pale lips, with the knife plunged deep into her chest. 

The man was staring at the maid with digust written all over he face and thats what finally snapped the last bit of Jisung's sanity.

The man pulled the knife out with a squelch and the woman choked, dropping down to her knees. He merely kicked her body out of the way without any sort of remorse before turning to Jisung again.

His mind went completely blank as a single thought pushed past the raging storm, _He wouldn't let this man tormemt him anymore and he wouldn't let him hurt anyone else._

With a guttural scream he threw himself at the man, who toppled back with the sudden attack, his body hitting the floor and he senselessly started to kick and punch the other, his mind and body strangely detached.

Tears obscured his view as he grabbed the nearest item and started ramming it against the other's body not aiming for any particular part, feeling a warm sticky substance coat his fingers each time he pulled back. 

A satisfying crunch or two later he felt a pair of strong hands roughly grab at his chest and push him away from the mutilated body of the man who had turned his life hell.

There was a loud ringing in his ears as he tried to fight off the hold and get back to the man to do some more damage but the arms around him tightened to the point of painful and he stopped thrashing. 

The adrenaline left his veins as his body slinked forward and he went placid, the only thing keeping him from sagging to the ground being the hands. 

He saw and heard everything around him but at the same time he didn't, his brain having stopped functioning at some point. He didn't know when or how he was brought to an ambulance with a doctor prodding at his body. He couldn't even understand the sounds that the person was producing, not that he bothered to focus on them anyway. 

It was later on, when he was wrapped in a blanket and sitting on a hard bench inside the police station that he finally came to his senses.

Visions of the man, knife, blood and the house maid came back to him as he balled his hands into fists hard enough for his nails to pierce the skin and draw out few drops of blood. 

His heart rate dangerously increased, the loud thumps reverberating in his ears as blood rushed through his head making him lightheaded. He couldn't breathe around his constricted throat and tried to physically claw at his neck in an attempt to open the tight passage. 

Panting heavily, he watched as black dots started to dance in front of him, growing bigger and bigger.

Suddenly there were hands on his face and he faintly heard someone ask him to _'breathe in breathe out'._

Wincing at the foreign touch he tried to move back but the hands stayed firmly attached until he gave up and instead tried following the muffled voice.

After what felt like hours of suffocation, he finally got some air into his collapsed lung and gasped loudly. Blinking away the tears that had somehow escaped his eyes he found a young man with braces looking at him, his face full of worry. 

He shied away from the stranger, embarrassed by his blatant show of weakness but the other only rubbed his back before walking away. 

He was massaging his temples when the memory of the maid being stabbed came to his mind and he stumbled to his feet, hurriedly walking to the nearest person who turned out to he a tall officer with a pretty mole under his left eye. He ignored the eye-catching beauty of the male in favor of asking about the woman. 

The man only offered him a sad smile,

"I think you should sit down Han-ssi. We'll talk later."

Dread pooled inside his gut as the other continued to refuse telling him about her. Frustrated, he raised his voice and started throwing profanities at the annoying male, not caring that he was inside a police station and was being rude to an officer. 

He had been amidst shouting in the other's face when the previous officer with braces dragged him to an office like room and settled him into a chair, bringing a glass of cold water. 

"Calm down Jisung-ssi. Officer Kim will be with you soon and he'll explain everything."

Jisung barely nodded, sipping at the cold soothing water and trying to rein in his sudden bout of anger. 

Just like the officer said a male walked in soon enough, looking too soft to be an officer with his puppy like features but Jisung had learned earlier in life that looks can be deceiving.

"Mr Han Jisung-ssi."

"Yes."

"I need to ask you a few questions if you're fine with it."

The man's voice was soft, laced with concern and Jisung relaxed, feeling like he could trust this guy even if just a tiny bit. 

For the next hour or so the man asked him all sorts of questions about his uncle, his business and other things which Jisung didn't know anything about. 

Then he asked about him about the bruises he had, which the doctor had seen while examining his body after they got him out of the house.

He had been reluctant to tell the officer but decided that this might be his only chance, so he told the other about the physical abuse and everything else that he had gone through the last few years. 

When the officer asked him why he didn't report the man sooner, he exclaimed how his uncle had sabotaged any attempts to run away and had spread rumours about him being involved in underground activities. If his uncle wanted, he'd present fake witnesses to the police about his involvement with mafia or some other deep shit and he'd be the one getting punished. The man only nodded as he continued writing away on his notepad. 

After the questions were finally done his body slumped against the chair as the exhaustion of the day finally caught up to it. 

The officer gave him a small smile,

"I'll leave you to rest for a bit. If you're hungry then just ask Officer Yang to get you something. I'll take my leave now."

Although before the man could leave the room, Jisung jumped to his feet and blocked the other's path.

"WAIT! You didn't tell me what happened to the maid? Is she alright? Did you take her to the hospital? Can i see her? She took a knife for me! She saved my-"

Jisung stopped talking as soon as his brain registered the grim expression on the other's face. Something was wrong, he could feel the muscles strongly clutch his heart as he once again felt a panic attack coming. He repeated _'breathe in and out'_ inside his head forcing himself to stay calm.

The man's knuckles turned white as his hold on his notebook tensed, crumpling it slightly. 

"I'm sorry Jisung-ssi."

He stared at the man with confused eyes and a terrified face not wanting to believe what he thought the other meant. 

"What do y-you mean. She's okay isn't she?"

The man let out a sigh as he grabbed Jisung's shoulder in an attempt to anchor the boy.

"She couldn't make it. I'm sorry."

He felt the world stop for the smallest of second before it all came crashing down on him. He would've fallen to his knees if the other hadn't been holding onto him as the realization of what really happened finally clicked into his head. 

The woman died saving him. He hadn't deserved to live, yet she had taken the knife for him. 

He didn't know that he was crying until he felt a warm hug which didn't do anything to lessen the ache in his heart but made sure he knew that he wasn't alone. 

"I'm sorry Jisung-ssi. She was the one who called the police saying the owner of the house was drunk and beating a boy. We tried to get there as soon as we could... but the damage had been done."

Jisung just cried harder as the man hugged him with a bit more strength.

"That man is going to pay for all his crimes and get punishment. He won't ever harm you again.... We'll make sure of it."

Jisung felt a hint of assurance past the heavy weight of guilt which had settled deep inside him. He was the reason the woman lost her life, he's just as much of a murderer as his uncle.

He couldn't help it as his body jerked with each sob that ripped through his throat while the man just quietly held him. 

Later on when no more tears came, the officer left him with a cup of warm tea and blanket as he went back to work. 

Jisung was lonely and scared, he wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and die. The guilt was churning in his gut like poison and he didn't know how he'd be able to live with himself anymore. 

The sight of the police station was causing him anxiety as the walls seemed to close in on him and his vision swimmed. That's when the tall officer came into view with a phone. 

"Hey. Do you want me to call someone to come here and pick you?"

Jisung shook his head, eyes stinging at the thought of once again being alone and abandoned _until_ a certain someone's face came to his mind and he immediately grabbed the man's arm, stopping him from turning back.

"YES!"

***************

There standing with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, a styrofoam cup in his hand with messy pale blue hair and tears streaming down his face was none other than Jisung. 

Minho almost fell to the floor with the relief that crashed through his body, the adrenaline rush dying down but when he saw the boy's trembling figure he postponed kissing the floor. 

Running over to the younger he wrapped his arms around the boy who had all but thrown himself into Minho's arms. He secured his hold around the boy not wanting to let go but after a few minutes, pulled back just enough to check him for any injury. 

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

Jisung quickly shook his head. He sighed in relief before whisper shouting. 

"I was so frightened! They said something about murder and you a-and Please don't scare me like that Sung."

He pressed his forehead against the boy's, trying to calm his frantic nerves. Jisung was safe, in his arms, he wasn't dead. He really wanted to just breakdown and cry at the moment but held back.

Cupping the boy's cold face he asked, 

"What happened Jisung?"

All color drained from the boy's face, his nail painfully digging into Minho's waist which he ignored. 

"S-She took- K-knife and blood...."

Minho tightened his hands around Jisung, going into alert mode. He wanted to ask the boy what he meant by that, but just then an officer walked towards them.

"Are you with Han Jisung-ssi?"

Minho nodded his head and without much thought pulled Jisung behind him. The other didn't make a comment at that action, instead beckoned him to have a private talk. He turned to the boy who was looking at him with wide vulnerable eyes and he caressed the younger's face. 

"It's alright. Hyung will be right back."

Jisung shakily exhaled and sat down on a nearby bench, looking so very young and small, bunched up in a blanket like that. The sight made Minho's heart tug as he made his way to where the officer was now waiting. 

When he was within earshot, the officer started off by asking the basic questions. 

"What's your relationship with Han Jisung-ssi?"

He didn't even have time to think before the reply was already escaping past his lips,

"I'm his boyfriend."

Surprisingly the words didn't sound fake or wrong when he said them, and he felt warmth blossom in his chest. The officer merely continued. 

"Do you know why he's here?"

Minho shook his head, "What happened?"

The officer had a sombre look on his face yet his voice was disturbingly calm. 

"Han Seunghoon, Jisung's uncle murdered a woman."

Minho felt a heavy weight drop in his stomach, the man fucking murdered someone!? He breathed through his mouth and the officer gave him a moment to collect himself before continuing. 

"We got a call from that household about a drunk owner abusing a boy. When we got there, the maid was fatally wounded. She took the knife for the boy as we found out later."

Minho couldnt help the shudder that ran down his spine at the thought of the man stabbing Jisung, had it not been for the woman, the other would be-

He gulped and tried to concentrate back on what the officer was saying.

"He had also been reported for money embezzlement and after Jisung-ssi's statement we know that he committed child abuse too. He's under our custody for now but soon he'll be facing trial. We'll see to it that he receives fitting consequences for his actions."

Minho bobbed his head in understanding, 

"What about Jisung?"

The officer thought for a moment. 

"Jisung-ssi could continue living in the house but i don't think that's a good idea. He's not a minor so we can't put him in foster care so-"

"He'll stay with me."

Minho's voice had sounded calm but he was anything but that. The officer looked at him with calculating eyes, but after a few minutes gave him a smile which looked alot like a puppy's. 

"If that's what Jisung-ssi wants. Also i'll contact you if there is anything else."

Minho gave a courteous bow to the man, 

"Thank you Sir."

The man offered another timid smile before waving him away. 

Minho approached the boy slowly, not wanting to scare him. Jisung had his knees drawn to his chest, his head tucked between them.

"Hey..."

The younger looked up and gave him half a smile which didn't quite reach his eyes,

"Hi."

He delicately pulled the boy up, 

"Lets go home Sungie." 

Jisung leaned his head on his shoulder as he confusedly asked, 

"Home?"

He pressed a light kiss to the younger's temple, 

"Yes home."

They took a cab to Minho's apartment and Jisung was eerily quiet during the entire ride as he stared outside the window. 

As soon as they made their way in, Minho sat the boy down on the couch and started making some hot chocolate for them. When he carried the steaming mugs out, he found the boy staring at the wall with a far away look. 

He settled beside the other, nudging him slightly. 

"Jisung-ah..."

The boy looked at him, his face completely blank and eyes unfocused. He gingerly placed the mugs on the table before pulling the boy onto his lap. 

Jisung continued to stay silent and Minho was getting worried. He rubbed circles into the soft muscles of the boy's thighs, coaxing the other to start talking.

"Baby please talk to me."

The younger took a shuddering breath and looked into Minho's eyes.

"I-"

Jisung cleared his throat and buried his head in Minho's chest, his hands clutching at the fabric of his shirt. 

"H-He called and told me to come back and the m-maid-" 

He let out a sob and Minho enveloped he boy into a hug, pulling him flush against his chest as he pressed butterfly kisses into the boy's hair. 

"H-He was drunk and kept coming at me saying it was my fault. I-I was so scared but then he brought a knife a-and-"

He clutched tighter and Minho felt wetness soak into his shirt. 

"The w-woman died hyung. She died because of m-me and it's all my fault. S-She was so nice a-and he-"

Minho shushed the boy, 

"Its not your fault Jisung. She was just trying to protect you from him."

When the boy just frantically shook his head, he decided to let the matter go for now. It wasn't the boy's fault and he'd make sure the younger believed his words, slowly but surely. 

He placed a light kiss on the boy's forhead,

"That bastard is in jail now and he'll get punsihed for all the wrong he did. Everything is going to be alright Sungie."

After a few more minutes the younger stopped crying and Minho shifted him in his lap in a more comfortable position before retrieving the mugs.

They both drank the now lukewarm liquid in silence which was only broken by the softly whispered, 

"I'm sorry hyung."

Minho was confused, "What are you apologizing for?"

"For everything," Jisung had his eyes fixed on the mug, his finger tracing the rim. "For dragging you into this mess. If only I'd never-"

"Han Jisung."

The boy snapped his eyes up to meet Minho's who all but dropped their mugs on the table before grabbing Jisung's hands. 

"You have nothing to apologize for. You walking into that café was the best thing that happened to me and I'm going to tell you this every single day until you believe me."

Tears filled the boy's eyes, "W-Why?"

Minho gave the other a bashful smile, not even having to think over his next words.

"Because I like you silly."

Jisung gaped open mouth at him, his eyes wide and sparkling, looking too cute for Minho's poor heart. 

"W-What?"

He just chuckled lightly before pecking the other's lip. 

"I like you alot Han Jisung. Will you be my boyfriend?"

Tears started cascading down Jisung's face and Minho instantly panicked, worried he'd said something wrong.

"Oh my Gawd! Don't cry, hyung is sor-"

"Shut up and kiss me you asshat!"

Jisung wiped at his eyes and tried to glare at him which only served to make the boy look even more adorable, his eyes puffy and lips pursed into a cute pout. 

Minho cooed at other before placing another peck on Jisung's lips making the boy whine. 

"Does this mean you agree?"

Jisung looked about ready to punch him. 

"Of course I do, why do yo-"

He was cut off with an _'oomph'_ as Minho smashed their lips together, this time into a proper kiss. 

Jisung threaded his fingers in his hair as Minho put one hand on the others waist to keep him from falling and the other on his face to angle his head for better access. It started off as an innocent kiss until the younger bit down on Minho's lower lip making him growl into the boy's mouth.

Jisung whimpered as the vibration ran through his own body and licked the other's lip in apology but Minho wasn't going to let the other off the hook so easily. 

He grabbed Jisung's thighs and abruptly stood up making the boy yelp and wrap his legs around the older's waist.

Minho smirked as Jisung latched himself onto him like a koala and whined out cutely.

"Hyunngg!"

He hummed and nuzzled his face into Jisung's neck as he walked to his bedroom. As soon as he was beside the bed he dropped the younger, causing him to let out a short scream. 

Jisung stared wide eyed up at him as he pulled his shirt off in one fluid motion. The younger's breath hitching as his eyes raked across his bare skin.

Minho climbed the bed, straddling the younger's hips as Jisung hungrily took in the sight of his toned chest and abs, unconsciously licking his lips. 

"Like what you see kitten?"

Jisung whimpered at the new nickname and with much effort dragged his eyes back to Minho's face who had the biggest shit-eating-grin on his face. 

Jisung huffed out an unconvincing, 

"It's not that great."

To which Minho lifted one amused eyebrow, 

"Oh really?" 

He leaned forward, hovering over the youngers body and caging him in with his hands pressed on both sides of his head. Jisung's adam apple bobbed up and down as he audibly swallowed and tried to look away.

Minho took that opportunity to bite down just under the boy's ear causing the younger to jostle at the sudden sensation. 

He continued biting down the younger's neck, leaving a trail of hickeys, feeling oddly proud at the blooming marks on Jisung... _his Jisung_. The said boy ran his hand over Minho's chest and back making the older shiver at the warm curious touches. He moved back up and captured the younger lip in a hungry kiss full of teeth and tongue.

He grazed the other's bottom lip with his teeth, making the boy moan and open his mouth in response. Minho wasted no time in shoving his tongue inside the other's mouth, licking at every nook and corner, causing the boy under him to whine loudly. 

Drinking up all the sounds that the younger was making, he moved one hand down Jisung's sweatshirt and the boy keened under his cold fingers. When Minho pushed the boy's shirt up, Jisung suddenly pulled back.

He instantly halted all his movements and was going to move away but the younger grabbed his hand, placing it back under his shirt. 

Minho looked at him with raised eyebrows, silently asking if something was wrong and the boy furiously blushed.

Jisung looked throughly wrecked, his lips swollen red and slick with saliva and Minho felt something pull at his heartstring when he realized that he was the one who made the boy such a mess and only _he_ was allowed to see the other in this state.

He caressed the other's cheek and the boy leaned into the touch making him smile. 

After a minute or so Jisung mumbled a shy, 

"I like you too Hyung, like alot." 

Minho felt like his chest swell with all that he was feeling at the moment.

He felt his heart soar with affection and fondness and as he pressed his forehead against Jisung's, he couldn't help but ask in a hushed whisper,

"Stay?"

Jisung gave him a blinding smile as he leaned up to connect their lips once again but not before answering in a soft voice full of love and adoration. 

_"Stay."_

*****THE END*****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finaaalllyyy the last chapter! Thank you for sticking with this story till the end of time~
> 
> Thank you for all the love, kudos and comments!!! ✨✨


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